Fragmented Gaze
by Sparkling-Iris
Summary: Shortly after Skyview temple, a progression of disturbing events break out in Skyloft, and it isn't long before Link figures out who's behind it all. But even after his plans go awry, Link can't understand why his enemy continues to keep him alive after toying with him for so long. Link/Ghirahim slash. Plot!Fic. Link's POV. ON HIATUS.
1. Obscure

**A/N: Hi there! ^.^**

**So, as it said in the summary, this is a plot!fic, its main pairing is Ghirahim/Link; meaning that it's yaoi, M/M, slash, etc. It's also M rated, so keep in mind that it'll have mature (violent, sexual, and/or dark) themes in later chapters. Please read at your own discretion.**

**This will be a multi-chapter story. It begins canon after completing Skyview Temple in TLoZ:SS, but takes a different story arc than in the game. It's told from Link's POV in past tense.**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns TLoZ.**

**Enjoy! xD**

**/**

"Finally back…" I muttered to myself as I arrived at Skyloft. I landed on the plaza and let my crimson loftwing fly off after a small pat on its beak. A few bright red feathers drifted down around me as the bird circled high above my head, then glided away over the clouds that surrounded the suspended island.

I turned back and rubbed my eyes tiredly. My whole body felt sore. After finally finishing up in Skyview Temple and acquiring the Ruby Tablet, I was completely exhausted. For the past few days, I'd been staying on the Surface, since it was too much trouble and would waste time to travel back and forth from the temple and the sky, but in the end, it didn't make that much difference. Either way, I'd been extremely deprived of sleep, and by now, I just wanted to go to bed.

I started heading towards the Knight's Academy, feeling too tired to appreciate the good weather. I could feel a light breeze, the liquid golden warmth from the sun, but my mind was only focused on sleep, which was quite normal for me.

Ever since I'd started my quest to save my childhood friend Zelda, I hadn't had much time to rest, or much time for myself for that matter.

"Hey Link! I've been looking for you." A voice jostled me out of my thoughts. I turned around to see a girl with red hair and a similar green knight's outfit approaching me from the plaza. Her hair was slightly windswept, probably from being out with her loftwing.

"Hey Karane, what is it?" I attempted a smile that obviously was pretty weak, judging by her expression.

She raised an eyebrow, "Um, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired, I guess."

She shrugged. "Anyway, I was looking for you. There's something important that I wanted to ask you about…"

I brushed away some strands of dirty blonde hair that had fallen over my eyes. "What is it?"

Karane paused and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning a bit closer. She lowered her voice. "Have you noticed anything weird around here recently?"

That was unexpected. "Weird? Like what?"

She straightened up and looked around in a pseudo nonchalant manner that didn't quite cut it. "Oh, I don't know…like…people acting strangely, stuff like that." Her next words demanded an answer, "So? Have you?"

"Er…" I paused awkwardly, trying to think of anything unusual that I'd noticed, but it was futile, since I'd been away for a little while, and was so busy lately that I was hardly noticing anything about anyone lately. It made me feel a bit guilty, but it couldn't be helped. Who else would save Zelda if I didn't? That was my top priority at the moment; save Zelda. I hadn't really thought about much else ever since she went missing. "Um…no, I haven't noticed anything weird. Why? Did something happen?"

She sighed in slight disappointment, but tried to hide unsuccessfully. "Nah, never mind then. You'll probably notice soon enough. I just thought I should tell you. There's been some weird stuff going on recently…"

"Oh, okay…um, since when?" I replied dumbly.

Karane thought for a moment, "I think since...perhaps yesterday?"

Oh, well that was way more recent than she made it sound. "Really? I thought you meant for a while…Anyway, I wasn't here yesterday. I was out. And the day before that, too." And a few days before that, as well.

More specifically, I was actually finishing up Skyview Temple two days ago, and was actually working my way through the temple for the previous days. Because I had some other stuff to wrap up on the Surface, I'd stayed overnight since finishing up at Skyview as well and returned here just today.

A look of understanding passed over her face. "Ah, that's why. Well, if you notice anything odd, just let me know. Pipit said that he wanted to investigate or something, but honestly, I think everyone's trying to figure out what's going on."

I stifled a laugh, forcing my expression into one of mild interest and confusion instead. Investigate, right. We weren't detectives, but then again, I knew that Pipit was the type who would take responsibility for everything. He was just like that. "Um…what sort of stuff should I be looking out for…?"

She scuffed her boot clad feet on the ground and frowned slightly, "Stuff like..."

Her voice trailed off and when she didn't continue, I prompted her. "Like?"

"…I don't know. Just anything or anyone that seems unusual. I don't want to give away too many details, because I don't want to creep you out, but some people have been acting off lately and it's just felt...different ever since yesterday."

I nodded vaguely. Clearly, she wasn't going to give away more details. "Er…yeah, sure thing." Either way, I just felt like returning to the Knight's Academy, where my room was and where I could finally sleep. "I…guess I'll see you later then…?"

"Yeah, okay, see you Link." She gave me a faintly suspicious nod and then started to walk away back towards the plaza again, leaving me with the feeling that she hadn't told me the whole story, which, she honestly hadn't. She'd barely taken two steps before she stopped walking and looked over her shoulder with concerned eyes. "Just be careful, okay?"

I blinked once. "…Yeah, of course. You, too?"

She nodded once with a small smile. When Karane began walking away and didn't turn around again, I shook my head to myself and then continued heading back to the Knight's Academy, not running into anybody else on the way.

What exactly had happened yesterday to make her act so paranoid? Was it a specific event, or a series of strange things, or perhaps just a continuous thing? It wasn't as if I was the ignorant or unobservant type, so if something weird was going on, I liked to think that I would have noticed. Then again, ever since I found out that it was my job to save Zelda, I had felt somewhat distanced from everyone else, and a bit too caught up in my own duties.

I sighed and pushed the thoughts away. Thinking like this was only counterproductive. By now, I'd reached the academy, immediately feeling more comfortable at being back once again.

Finally, I could sleep in my own bed tonight. When I'd been on the Surface, I hadn't even had proper shelter, having to sometimes camp outside or take small naps whenever the opportunity presented itself. Definitely not comfortable. But it sure was more convenient than flying back to Skyloft every single night.

I turned the handle on the door to my room and pushed it open, stepping inside; the low window that rays of warm sunlight would stream through, the green quilted bed, the quaint wooden pieces of furniture, the faded orange area rug; it should have all made me feel less restless.

It wasn't until I was actually inside my room that I began to feel much more uneasy and wary than anything. I closed the door behind me, eyes inadvertently scanning the room more carefully; suspiciously, as though searching for abnormalities.

It was all Karane's fault. If she hadn't been so mysterious, I probably wouldn't be so paranoid…

"Fi?" I said quietly, just as the sword spirit flipped out in front of me from the goddess sword that was still sheathed on my back. She gazed at me with her emotionless, pupil-less eyes, lithe body floating delicately a few inches above the wooden floor.

"Yes, Master Link?" Her voice chimed out softly with a bell-like quality.

"Is there actually anything unusual going on here? Or was Karane just making it all up?"

Fi paused, as though analyzing data, which she probably was. "I cannot be certain at this time. However, it appears that something may have occurred yesterday while you were on the Surface."

Ah, I knew that much already. "Okay, just let me know if you notice anything."

She nodded and then vanished once more into the sword before giving me a strange, careful look that I completely disregarded. I stripped off most of my items and clothes items until I was mainly just in my long-sleeved white undershirt and my pants. I put all my supplies in a neat pile on the ground by my desk, leaving the Ruby Tablet neat the top so that I'd see it and remember to put in the goddess statue come tomorrow. As I knelt down to sift through my items to gather some loose Rupees together, I bumped into the corner of the table slightly.

"Agh!"

I grit my teeth at the contact that incidentally was against an injury I'd gotten when on the Surface.

Straightening up, I let my fingers trace over a faintly ridged scar that ran along my left side, over the hip, lifting up the corner of my undershirt. It hadn't completely healed, even after using a heart potion, and it was discolored with a dusty shade of pink. The skin was more irritated since I'd bumped into the table just now, but I was glad that it hadn't broken through the already delicate skin again.

I found it a bit surprising how deep the wound that caused it had been, and even more surprising that the heart potion hadn't healed it completely, but I suppose I had to get stronger to avoid stuff like this happening again. It definitely was more trouble than it was worth. It was way better to just be prepared.

Because the injury had been inflicted with a blade while I was wearing my tunic, chainmail and undershirt, there was a tear in each article, as well. I had already replaced my undershirt, as I had many spares, but I only had one spare tunic, which I had stored away, so I'd probably have to get that mended in order to preserve the other. It wasn't as though I could be getting extra tunics every time I got mine torn or dirty. As for the chainmail, I only had one set, so I would definitely have to get that repaired. Not to mention, after getting injured, I had had to wash the blood stains out of them, which took a long time.

The tip of my pointer finger pressed slightly at the scar. It still felt sensitive, and I shivered as I remembered how painful the injury that inflicted it had been.

When I had been nearing the end of Skyview Temple, I'd run into a strange…person…rather, self-proclaimed demon lord. His name didn't really stick in my head since I was extremely fixated on saving Zelda, but I remember that it was strange, unique; probably because he was a demon, or so he said. He didn't seem the type that I could trust anyways.

When I thought about it now, I was certain that I'd never met anyone like him before, but either way, I didn't like the way he was talking about Zelda, and to me, that was all that mattered at the time.

Moreover, he was clearly not on my side, and it all went to say that I got a bad cut on my side after he attacked me...well, after I sort of inadvertently provoked him to attack me, seeing as I was the first to draw my weapon.

Luckily, I had been able to fend him off well enough, and eventually he left me alone. Still, I had the uncanny feeling that I would meet him again one day. Hopefully I'd be more skilled by then.

"Ow!" I grimaced as I pressed on the scar too hard without thinking, withdrawing my hand immediately. I lifted the corner of my undershirt again to look at the scar once more, as though trying to remind myself that if I'm not careful, this is what'll happen.

A soft, almost inaudible, yet somehow familiar laugh that could have been the sound of the breeze outside followed my actions, and I whirled around in alarm. My eyes instinctively darted from one corner of the room to the other, heart jumping to my throat.

Nothing at all. It seemed that it was just the wind after all...

"Fi, did you hear that?" I asked just in case, still tense.

She twirled out of the goddess sword which I had laid down on the ground at the foot of my bed earlier. It was still in its sheath, which rested near my shield. "Did you hear something, Master?" She inquired.

"W-well, I thought I did…" I said with little confidence. "But did you hear anything? Like a laugh or something?"

She shook her head once after a moment of hesitation that made me question her response. "No, I believe that what you heard was coming from outside your room."

"Oh, but I'm pretty sure I heard something…" The end of my statement rose with a questioning tone, blatantly contradictory to the words I'd just uttered. I wasn't 'pretty sure' at all. I was less than half sure that I'd heard something. The more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed that I'd heard a voice at all.

"You are tired, Master. I suggest that you rest."

I bit my lip, feeling doubtful. After a moment, I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding in until now. "Yeah, I guess I should."

With one last wary glance around the room, I went and shut the small window, casting the area into shadows, and then sprawled out on the bed, not bothering to get under the covers, since I was too lazy. Fi vanished into the goddess sword once more as I slung an arm over my now closed eyes, the other hand resting on the forest green quilt. My knees were bent slightly, part of my bare left foot hanging over the side of the bed.

And all ready to finally sleep, I relaxed, pushing away the uneasiness from before.

Well, trying to. Trying and failing to.

The room was darkened, the window being closed to stop the midday light from streaming through, it was quiet, comfortable, warm…everything that should have promoted sleep-not to mention that I'd been suffering from pretty bad fatigue, and that my body craved sleep-yet…

"Fi?" I broke the silence, my voice quiet. There was only a small moment of silence before she replied.

"Yes, Master?"

Her voice seemed to blend in with the soft sound of the breeze outside and the overall quietness of the room, unlike my own, which seemed too noticeable.

"…Nothing." I was just being stupid again. Karane's words really had spooked me. I had never thought I was one to take such things so seriously, or the superstitious type, come to think about it. Not that I previously believed Karane to be that type either.

She answered softly, "It is advisable that you rest up before tomorrow."

Again, she said practically the same thing. I almost felt as though I were being babysat by her.

Then the silence was back, just the same as before; Stifling and claustrophobic. It was really starting to annoy me how I couldn't sleep when I should have been able to…there had to be something off about the situation.

It only took me a little while longer before I realized the potential problem. It wasn't related to what Karane had told me, or at least, I didn't think it was, but all the same. "Fi?" My voice had dropped until it was barely audible. "Where is everyone?"

Thankfully, Fi heard me, and I pulled my arm away from my eyes, looking around the dark room. I propped myself up on my elbows. "I sense that most of Skyloft's population is near the Bazaar or outside."

"Are there any people inside this building? Besides me?" If there weren't, that would be a bit unusual.

"No, there are not, Master."

"Why?"

There was a pause. "Allow me to analyse the situation. It will only take a moment."

"Okay, go ahead." I permitted.

I exhaled softly. Okay, so maybe Karane was right; there were some unusual things going on. Nothing specific, from what I could tell, but weird all the same. What made things worse was that I didn't feel like I was really, and yet I could tell that I was the only one here besides Fi. It was as though there were invisible eyes watching me.

But that thought was ridiculous.

Finally, after what felt like forever, even though it only took a few short moments, Fi spoke up again. "I sense that most Skyloftians are outside and in the more central sectors of Skyloft due to possible suspicions."

I ran a hand through my hair, wincing slightly when my fingers caught on the small blue earrings that I hadn't bothered to remove, even though I probably should have. "Okay, sure. But of what?"

"Because of an occurrence yesterday, it is probable that they are suspicious of each other and are monitoring other's behavior for abnormalities." Fi replied instantly.

So because of some event that happened yesterday, everyone has turned against each other. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Everyone really was playing detective! Just what exactly had happened yesterday to make everyone act like this anyways?

"I am not certain of the exact event or series of events that occurred yesterday." Fi responded. I frowned slightly until I realized that I had spoken my last thought out loud.

"Okay, well thanks for telling me."

"You're welcome, Master Link." She was just about to vanish into the goddess sword when I stopped her.

"Um, wait, I just have another question."

I looked to my left, where Fi was now hovering. "Yes?"

"Are you sure that I'm alone or are you just saying that?"

A pause longer than usual greeted my words and gave me the answer that I was looking for. I sat up properly and dangled my legs over the side of my bed. I looked up at Fi carefully, searching for any evidence of guilt or embarrassment at lying to me earlier.

I looked away when I found nothing. Her expression was just as blank as usual.

I tried to reword my question. "Is there someone else here? Or near here?"

She hesitated again, perhaps to analyze data or something, and then gave one nod. "Yes, there is a 78% chance that a presence is. However, I cannot identify the exact location or access any specific data. At the moment, I advise you to rest. There does not appear to be any danger currently." She replied just as quietly.

Despite what she said, an unsettling sensation washed over me at the verbal confirmation, making me feel unnaturally cold and almost ill, despite knowing that I was perfectly healthy. I'd been secretly hoping that my suspicions were wrong, but now I knew that they weren't.

Maybe this was why I couldn't sleep. I hadn't really identified it earlier, but…come to think about it…all day I'd been feeling a bit wary, but I just ignored it. Especially since I came to Skyloft. I'd just been also too tired to notice it until now, and I suppose that being in a more enclosed area accentuated my feelings of unease, heightening my awareness.

"Fi, why didn't you tell me earlier?" I looked up at the sword spirit, who was still floating beside my bed. In the darkness, her body produced an ethereal blue glow that illuminated most of the room. My skin looked pale and ghostly in the light, clear and almost translucent; oddly fragile, like porcelain; breakable.

She bowed. "I apologize, Master Link, however there was over a 50% probability that you would have difficulty sleeping if you were aware of this beforehand. I would have certainly informed you if I observed there to be any threats."

"Ah, I see." I ran a hand through my hair and crossed my legs. I leaned back on one hand. I never thought she would think to do something like that. "Next time, I want to know either way." Because even if she hadn't told me, I figured it out soon enough on my own.

"Of course, Master."

"Just one last thing." I added, "Is the 'presence' actually in this room? Does it have anything to do with me, or is it just random?"

Goddess, please don't be. "I cannot be specific due to various difficulties. It is challenging to track, Master, but I do not know enough about the entity to discern whether it presents a threat or not. Additionally, I cannot discern its intentions. For now, I suggest that you rest, for there is little to be done about it currently."

I groaned exasperatedly. That was probably the fifth or sixth time she'd told me to rest.

And if I was guessing right, everyone was out today because they wanted to observe everyone else's behavior since they were suspicious, and yet, from what I gathered, the actual 'weird thing' was here, if it was indeed related to what Karane had been talking about.

Moreover, if Fi couldn't identify it, then it seemed very unlikely that anyone would be able to.

I only hoped that Fi's percentages were wrong, because if there really was someone watching me, or whatever, I didn't want to consider the reason or motivation behind their actions either. What I wanted most was to be able to identify the presence because it was creepily familiar, but all the same, I just couldn't figure out who it was. I felt as though I should know, too.

I just couldn't quite recall who or what it could be.

"'K, fine, I'm going to sleep now." I breathed out, hating how I still felt shaken. "And Fi, can you make sure I wake up by tomorrow morning."

Yes, I could sleep from noon today until morning tomorrow. That seemed completely possible for me. But perhaps not, if I was feeling this tense. At least I knew that my restlessness was not the result of irrational paranoia.

She nodded and disappeared into the goddess sword once more, the light that emanated from her vanishing as well, leaving the room in almost complete darkness. Only small traces of light came into the room from the small crack under my door, and around the window shutter.

Once again, the silence bore down on me, suffocating and thick.

I exhaled heavily, then instinctively chewed on my bottom lip like I always did when I was uncomfortable. But if Fi didn't think that there was anything to worry about right now, then I would trust her. She had never given me bad advice before, and I could figure out what the problem was in the morning, after I'd finished up my other business here in Skyloft. Nevertheless, that didn't eliminate the possibility that she was wrong.

I lay back down, pulling the covers away and sliding underneath them, now feeling almost naked when uncovered. It felt as though the darkness was compressing around me, making the room smaller and smaller with each passing moment, even though I knew that that was clearly not the case.

The thin, faint streaks of light that permeated the darkness seemed to fade and dim, as though losing their resolve to brighten the room. If I weren't so nervous, I would probably be able to find sleep more easily and ignore the lurking presence.

Nevertheless, as I continuously reminded myself, if Fi said it was okay for now, then it was okay. I just hoped that things would calm down in Skyloft soon enough and that people would stop acting so unreasonably suspicious. I had enough to deal with as it was.

Although I did wish that I could figure out why that invisible gaze felt so familiar.

/

**A/N: Er...sorry if it's a bit of a slow start :/**

**Anyways, I hope you continue reading, and if you have time, I'd love it if you left a review! Btw, Ghirahim will be showing up soon, too! ;)**

**You can probably expect chapters to be posted weekly. :)**


	2. Defined

**A/N: Hi again; it might seem like a lot happens here, but…well, it just kind of worked out that way :) Hope you still like it. Chapters will probably get longer as the story progresses and the plot develops.**

**No warnings yet...well, there are some disturbing things that are mentioned...**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns TLoZ.**

**/**

"M…st…r Li…"

The words started out quiet and muffled. I turned over at the sound of a faint voice, moving away from its source. It was nice and warm here, and my head felt fuzzy with drowsiness. I didn't really feel like being woken up yet.

"Ma…t…r, wa…up."

Hm? What was that? I listened more carefully and the words cleared up.

"Master Link, you must wake up."

I groaned irritably, but nonetheless, I sat up and blinked my eyes open groggily. I stared dully around my room.

The morning light was streaming in through the window, casting out white-golden rays. It made me squint. Fi must have opened the shutter or something to try and wake me up. I knew I'd told her to make sure I was awake by this morning, but still, it was a bit annoying that she listened to me either way. I almost wished she hadn't.

"Hey, Fi." I mumbled, combing my fingers through my hair absently as I caught sight of the blue sword spirit floating nearby. She nodded once in greeting in that emotionless manner of hers. "Nothing happened while I was sleeping, right?"

A shake of the head. "There were no other disturbances, although I can report that the entity that was sensed in the vicinity had vanished either temporarily or permanently soon after midnight. I apologize, but I could not track where it went."

I shrugged. "Ah, well that's okay."

She gave a small motion of acknowledgement before disappearing into the goddess sword wearing a strange expression that looked as though she wanted to say something, but didn't.

I sighed softly, trying to sense for any other presences, but not noticing anything unusual. Thank Farore. If it just disappeared for good, then I could focus all my energy on rescuing Zelda instead, and everyone else would just calm down already.

I reached above my head and stretched out the stiffness in my back and arms. Well, whatever. It was better that Fi had woken me up. I had a lot of things I had to do today.

It didn't take long for me to get something to eat and then clean up afterwards, thankfully not feeling any watchful eyes following me. It was nice to run into some other people at the Knight's Academy as well. They did seem a bit shaken, but from what I could tell, nobody was acting as strangely as what Karane had hinted at yesterday. Just vaguely nervous, perhaps. A few suspicious glances every now and then. Not that I could blame them.

Ever since feeling that weird presence yesterday, I felt a bit uneasy as well.

After passing the yellow clad knight Pipit in the hallway on my way back to my room, he did mention that he was going to look into what's been going on here-whatever that exactly was-but besides that, he acted pretty normally, too.

If I just ignored that strange feeling I got yesterday, then if might as well have been a typical day in Skyloft…well, unless I was just being unobservant, which was a possibility.

When I returned to my room, I went to the pile of supplies I'd left out near my desk, and knelt down to sort through it all.

It wasn't exactly exciting stuff, but before I did anything, I always made sure that I brought everything I'd need, and now was no exception. I had a lot of stuff that wasn't very useful at the moment, like the many amber relics that I'd accumulated; those were the sorts of things that could stay here.

I picked up a half empty glass bottle, the blood red heart potion sloshing around inside it. I'd probably take maybe one of these for now and restock later...well, I was sure that half a bottle would do also if I was careful and didn't go injuring myself foolishly. I didn't use any other types of potions that much, so it would be kind of redundant to take anything else…Ugh, I hated taking too much stuff with me.

Even though my adventure pouch could carry it all somehow, it was just tiring to have to sift through everything just to find one item, like I was doing now, even if being fully supplied was convenient and probably better than being understocked.

"Ruby Tablet…Ruby Tablet…Where is it?" I mumbled under my breath as I impatiently tossed the slightly crumpled Skyview Temple dungeon map to the side in my search. It was soon joined by my slingshot, the beetle contraption thing, and the sailcloth. I tossed aside a few more items, hearing them clatter softly as they were discarded on the wooden floor.

"…And I remember leaving it here, too…" I continued.

A few deku seeds and some Rupees scattered on the floor as I moved the other objects around, looking for the tablet that I'd worked so hard to get. Goddess, I'd spent so much time on the Surface and in Skyview Temple just to get this tablet…

It was only a few moments later when I realized that it wasn't there with my other things. I mentally groaned as I leaned back on my hands and looked at what used to be a neat pile of items. I curled my fingers into the faded rug underneath me. "Where the hell is it?"

A thorough search of my room was in order, but I didn't even bother since I had the distinct feeling that I wouldn't find the much needed tablet anywhere, and I breathed out exasperatedly.

Had I just imagined putting it with my other stuff? Or had I misplaced it somewhere? Had I even bothered to take it with me from the Skyview Spring in the first place?!

No, that would be beyond careless, and Fi would have mentioned something if I'd forgotten it somewhere, or if I'd lost it at some point.

Biting my lip to stop yet another frustrated sigh from escaping, I glanced back at the foot of my bed where the goddess sword was resting. I owed Fi so much at this point that I didn't really want to ask her for help, but it just didn't seem likely that anybody else would be very useful. Nobody else would even know what I was looking for or what it looked like.

Resigned, I decided that I should just ask for help. It was her duty to aid me, after all, and I doubted that she got annoyed at having to accompany me on my quest. She didn't really show emotions in the first place, and it seemed unlikely that she even felt them like humans did, since she was actually a sword spirit.

"…Fi, do you know where the Ruby Tablet is? I can't find it." I asked tiredly as I looked down to adjust my gauntlets.

There was a pause.

I flexed my fingers once to test the grip before I got to my feet. I used my boot clad foot to lightly kick some of the items together so that they wouldn't take up so much space, and in a mediocre attempt to return the pile of supplies to its former neatness. Not that it did much good.

"Fi?" I looked up from my still scattered items, expecting to see the sword spirit twirl out of the goddess sword like normal, but much to my confusion, nothing happened. My gaze drifted lower, until I was looking at my scabbard…which was flagrantly empty.

My eyes widened. "…Fi?" I tried again, even though it was painfully obvious that she, and the goddess sword which she resided in, wasn't there.

Silence ensued as I stared at the empty sheath. Half of it was blocked from the sun by the foot of my bed, while the rest of it was in the light, the rays bouncing off of its metallic golden and blue surface. Regardless of how nice a scabbard it was, it was definitely nothing without a sword.

I bent my knees until I was crouching, almost as low as I was sitting earlier. I looked back at where the sheath was.

Ah, no wonder I hadn't noticed.

From my angle earlier when I was sitting, I just couldn't see that the goddess sword wasn't there because the footboard of the bed was blocking my view, so I only saw the end of the sheath. When I'd walked into my room, I probably wasn't looking in that direction anyways.

Besides, I never would have expected this.

It took me a few more seconds before what had happened finally sunk in. Shock flared in my chest belatedly and I found myself losing my balance and sitting on the ground again, leaning against the leg of my desk. I bent my right knee and brought my arm around it, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

The Ruby Tablet, which was vital in order to progress in my quest, was missing, and now the goddess sword and Fi were missing, too.

And to think that everything seemed to be fine just a few moments ago. It wasn't until I'd entered my room again that it took a turn for the worse. I couldn't have been gone for long, either. I'd only gone to get breakfast and wash up, and hadn't dawdled or anything…

Mentally berating myself for leaving the goddess sword here alone, I forced myself to get up once more. Sulking wasn't going to help the situation.

I looped on my adventure pouch to my belt after packing the necessary items in it, leaving my empty scabbard and shield behind, along with a smaller pile of stuff that I didn't feel like putting away just yet.

I certainly wasn't going to return to the Surface any time soon if I couldn't find Fi. She was like my guide, and she knew much more than I did about the world below.

If I couldn't figure out where she'd gone soon, I might have to choose between aborting my quest altogether, and venturing out into the unknown without her help, which would likely just lead to an impasse anyway.

Just as I was about to leave my room, a faint sound caught my attention. I stalled, glancing back, one hand resting on the door knob, halfway in the process of turning it.

It sounded vaguely like a footstep or something, but I couldn't be sure. I scrutinized the room for a few more seconds before turning back to the door, shrugging off the feeling of unease that I'd just been doused with.

A light brush that felt eerily like the touch of a hand along my shoulder made me flinch terribly, though, and I whipped around instinctively, going to draw my sword, but realizing, my right hand already poised, that I didn't have my sword with me. I didn't even have my scabbard or my shield strapped on.

I flushed slightly in embarrassment, looking around the room once more and not finding anything again. I sighed, it was that…thing again, wasn't it?

Well, I didn't have time for it.

Leaving my room, I started to head back to see Pipit, forcing my sudden apprehension away. He knew best about what happened in the Knight's Academy, since he was a senior and he patrolled around here often, so he was the one to ask for help.

I knew now that somebody had to have been in my room earlier. An actual person, not just the 'presence' that had reappeared just now. I knew that I couldn't possibly have misplaced the goddess sword, so the only other reason behind its disappearance, and of that of the Ruby Tablet's, was that someone took it.

But whether the person in question just chanced upon taking those two particular items, or whether they deliberately did, was up for debate. If they did know that those were the two most important things I owned right now, then they must have been out to sabotage my quest. If not, then it was just an unlucky coincidence. Maybe.

Either way, I had no way of knowing, since I didn't really have any idea of what was going on anymore.

Suddenly, as I turned down the hallway towards where I'd last seen Pipit, I found myself running into someone.

"Agh!" The other person made a shocked sound as I collided into them. Not having very quick reflexes, they stumbled, trying to catch their footing, and I held out a hand to help them get up after they fell to the ground clumsily.

The orange clad Skyloftian's eyes widened as his startled gaze locked on my hand as though it was a weapon pointed at his throat. I frowned. "Fledge?"

He looked up at me with frightened eyes that made me wonder just what exactly I had done to invoke this reaction. "Um…Are you okay?" I tried again after a lack of response.

"Oh!" He jumped to his feet awkwardly when he realized I was expecting an answer, picking up a bunch of green fabric that he'd dropped. He hastily stuffed it behind his back before I could figure out what it was. "Uh, y-yeah! I'm fine!"

I nodded, trying not to show my incredulity. Was this what Karane meant by 'acting strangely'? I shook the thought away. Fledge was always high strung and nervous. This was normal for him. "Er…are you sure?"

"Yeah! I'm f-fine, Link!" He nodded back vigorously, voice faltering halfway, and only enforcing my supressed suspicion.

I started to speak again, "Is something wr-"

"I'll see you later, then, Link!" He quickly interjected, cutting me off and continuing on his way, practically running past me and through the door that led outside, which was situated near my room.

I blinked once. That was really…unusual.

Maybe he was the one who stole the-

No. I stopped the thought before it could fully form. Fledge would never do something like that. It wasn't even possible. He wasn't that kind of person.

Besides, how would he know to take the goddess sword and the Ruby Tablet anyways? If he were to steal something, it seemed more likely that he would go after something like the Rupees.

He wasn't good with a sword, so what use would taking the goddess sword be to him? And the Ruby Tablet didn't look that impressive either. It was quite plain looking, truthfully. It only had a small ruby embedded into it; the rest of it was a plain beige color with some shallow engravings. Nothing too eye catching.

I continued heading through the hallway until I came to the classroom where I knew Karane usually was, the feeling from earlier having dissipated momentarily.

It wouldn't hurt to ask her about what was going on. I did promise to tell her if I noticed anything strange, and I had noticed a few strange things recently, such as Fledge's behavior, my missing possessions, and the presence I'd been noticing.

The sound of people talking reached my ears as I neared the classroom, and I found my pace slowing when I noticed the ambiguously tense quality in the tone.

I recognized Karane's voice, and Pipit's, but also someone else's. It sounded like one of the academy instructors, Horwell. I stopped walking and found myself listening in near the doorway, just out of sight from anyone inside the class.

I knew that it would be really hard to explain what I was doing if I got caught, not to mention that it was definitely childish, but it was just so strange to have all three of them in the same place at this time of day. And seemingly arguing, too. I wasn't about to pass this up.

There weren't classes at this time here, either, so this definitely wasn't some sort of lesson.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I already told him, but he said that he wasn't here." Karane was saying impatiently.

"But where was he, then?" Pipit countered.

Horwell's voice came next. "He's been very busy recently, and I'm afraid I can't give you details right now."

It only took me a few seconds before I realized that they were probably talking about me. Naturally, that only fueled my already burning curiosity.

"Yes, I'm aware of that…" Pipit sounded like he was trying to keep his composure. "I just have to be certain that it's not him that's behind this."

That I'm not behind what? The weird things happening? I found myself unwillingly taking offence at the indirect accusation.

"Pipit, Link definitely has nothing to do with this. He wasn't even here yesterday, so that was the first he heard about it." Karane said. "When I told him that there were strange things happening, he only looked confused like it was the first he'd heard of it."

"I believe Karane is right." Horwell affirmed. "And I think he has enough on his plate as it is without causing trouble here. He doesn't have the time to do that."

There were a few sounds of agreement before I heard Karane's voice again. "Look, I just wish I knew what was going on, myself…"

"Me, too, I guess." Pipit sighed. "It's just that ever since…well, I guess since the entire supply of bombs were stolen, that weird things have been happening…I can't remember anything strange happening before that, unless you count Zelda going missing, but that's confidential information anyways."

I blinked. The entire supply of bombs were stolen from the Bazaar? So that was it. That was what was freaking everyone out. I raised an eyebrow incredulously. No, it had to be something else, too.

"The bombs getting stolen has nothing to do with Link, and although it seems likely, we can't yet confirm that it is related to the other things happening here." Horwell interjected.

There was a resigned sounding sigh from one of them, but I couldn't tell who. Karane spoke next as I heard the sound of rustling paper and pages turning. "Look here, I made a list of all the events because it's been getting hard to keep track of. Also, we need to have some sort of file that records this information for reference later. I'm guessing that Headmaster Gaepora will want to look into this sometime. Do you want me to read it?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Pipit replied.

"So," She started. "Two days ago, the entire supply of bombs were stolen…" A pause. "But you knew that. Then a bit later, I'm sure you heard, but two loftwings were…killed…" Her voice trailed off dejectedly, and it bothered me that Karane, who was usually so confident and spirited, sounded so morose.

I could now hear the quiet sound of pacing, the steady, calm intervals between the steps indicated that it was probably Horwell. Pipit and Karane seemed a bit too anxious to walk that deliberately.

"Continue." Horwell urged her. "If we look at this information, it's likely that we'll find some sort of pattern or clue that will lead us to the person behind all this."

"Yeah, just a second." More rustling paper, "Okay, here it is. I have more details on the loftwing incident. They were both found at the plaza, but not at the same time, and judging by the wounds, looked to be stabbed in multiple places by maybe a sword or another sharp weapon, I'm not sure about that, though. I didn't go close up to their bodies, because I heard that they might carry diseases. But I know that there were no injuries to their vitals."

The image the description conjured in my head made me grimace in revulsion. I couldn't imagine who here would kill a loftwing, or, for that matter, two. And I didn't see why anyone would want to either. From what I could tell, this just sounded like killing for sport.

But at least now I could see why people were so anxious. As for Fledge's behavior, I could sort of understand it better now.

Knowing him, he was probably freaking out about whether I was the one who killed the loftwings or something crazy like that. Despite how he used to trust me, having something like this happen, which was completely unheard of until recently, probably rattled his nerves. Additionally, he was very sensitive, so things like this would likely get to him more than with other people.

"Um, do you think that whatever killed them wanted them to suffer?" Pipit asked, his voice more subdued.

"It seems likely…" Horwell confirmed gravely. "I haven't told you two this, but there is a lot of evidence that suggests that the killer of the loftwings was a human. I was discussing it with Instructor Owlan, who was allowed to closely examine the bodies. He said that he found that the lacerations were inflicted in exactly the same places for each. I won't go into too much detail, but the injuries were definitely caused by some sort of blade."

I chewed on my bottom lip. So this was more than just a freak thing. Never before had a loftwing been deliberately killed by a person. Yeah, there were records of people losing control of their birds and having collisions with various things, resulting in both their deaths, but this wasn't the same.

There was a long, oppressive silence before anyone spoke again and I had to force myself not to bite at my lip anymore, as I could taste the faint tang of blood on my tongue from worrying the skin too much.

Finally, Karane broke the silence, "Should I keep reading?"

Horwell sighed wearily, as though he didn't want her to, but knew that it was better to in the long run. "Yes, please continue. I need to make sure we all have our facts straight. We're still not completely certain that these events are related."

"Okay, so then there were a lot of people saying that they felt a weird presence every now and then, but we can't really count that as real evidence." Karane added, "I think that everyone's just kind of paranoid now, and they're convincing themselves of things that aren't true."

"Oh, definitely. Everyone's suspicious now. It's only natural." Pipit reasoned.

"I guess so," She agreed, "And then after that, there was that butterfly thing…which was definitely done by a human." I heard her shudder.

"Butterfly thing?" Horwell interrupted. "I never heard about that."

His pacing stopped and Pipit's voice followed. "There were about ten Blessed Butterflies that were found dead. They were sort of pinned to-"

"-Link's door." Karane completed.

Nausea rose in my throat. No wonder Pipit sounded so suspicious of me earlier. He had little reason not to be. Horwell wasn't suspicious of me because he knew that I was busy enough as it was. Karane wasn't either, because she had been the one to see my reactions to hearing that there were weird things going on.

Then…wait, what about Fledge's behavior? That was still bothering me. There was something off about it that I wanted to figure out.

If there were dead butterflies tacked to my door when I was gone, then how could I be the killer of the loftwings and the one who stole the bombs? If I was, then it would be stupid to tack them to my door. Plus, nobody knew for sure if these had anything to do with each other. This would also be singling me out, and I'd be under suspicion.

Maybe he was just afraid to talk to me in case he was targeted next…because this butterfly thing definitely was a clear indication that the person behind all this was after me for some reason or other.

I shivered. Well, now I knew that the missing goddess sword and the missing Ruby Tablet were related to everything else. In fact, it appeared that everything here was related in some form or other. And it was probably the same person behind each.

Whoever it was probably had some sort of grand scheme that involved me in some way…Which probably meant that this had something to do with saving Zelda, since I was the only one here that was connected to that.

Horwell didn't reply for a long moment. When he spoke again, he sounded confident. "Nonetheless, if Link was behind this, he wouldn't have had them against his door. He hasn't been here for the past few days, so when would he have done it. But how exactly did it look? And who found them?"

"Well, Fledge found them first, since his room is beside Link's." She said, "And…it was honestly pretty disgusting. They were arranged in a sort of diamond shape, and there were ten small daggers that were keeping them up. But what's weird is that we don't even have those kinds of daggers here…You probably didn't hear about it since nobody wants to talk about it. It was even worse than the loftwings somehow, since it was on Link's door and we know that it had to be a human…Everyone's worried that Link's gonna get killed or something. A lot of people found out when they happened to walk past his room…and the wings were all torn and ripped. But nobody saw it actually happen."

It was then that something clicked.

Daggers…arranging the dead butterflies in a diamond shape. Daggers that aren't found here. Diamonds.

Killing loftwings and making them suffer, using some sort of blade to inflict enough injuries just to make them probably bleed to death. And leaving the bodies so arrogantly in plain sight without even a semblance of modesty.

Me losing the goddess sword and the Ruby Tablet, both of which were two of my most vital possessions. The two items that I absolutely needed to have to progress any further in my already difficult quest.

The presence that Fi couldn't even figure out what it was, and the laugh that I passed off for as the wind, later followed by the feeling of someone touching my shoulder.

And yet the whole time, I hadn't seen anyone.

I felt my body freeze up for less than a second before I forced myself to just give myself a moment to think rationally.

But damn…no, this couldn't be true.

It couldn't possibly be him.

Feeling a bit sick and not wanting to eavesdrop any more-even though there was probably more important information that I could have caught-I turned back and left for my room, mind buzzing with questions that nobody here could answer.

If it truly was him, then this was way more serious than just some deranged human killing loftwings and ripping apart insects. This was all directly related to my quest to save Zelda.

The two things had never been separate. They'd all been part of some scheme that I still couldn't figure out completely.

And the more I thought about it, the more that things were falling into place. Things were actually making sense in some twisted, yet frightening way. Because if that…demon…had been behind all this, then that meant that I had inadvertently put everyone else in danger, not just myself. I'd never asked for this! I just wanted to bring Zelda back to Skyloft and to not have to worry about stuff like this.

It wasn't meant to go this way! If it truly was who I thought it was, then I was in for a lot of trouble, as was everyone else.

I reached my room after blindly making my way through the academy, and I stopped at the door. My eyes landed on the wood, searching for any marks that daggers could have made.

My gaze caught on a small dent in the wood, followed by another and another. Soon, my eyes had traced the shape of a diamond. Goddess, they really weren't just making stuff up. There really had been dead butterflies pinned against my door.

Feeling more ill than ever, I forced myself to open the door and step inside, closing it behind me. The room still looked as bright as ever with the rays of sunlight still shining through the open window. Everything looked alive and cheerful.

It just gave me a headache. I needed some time to think this over.

I'd only taken about two steps forward when a distinct chill ran down my spine, filling me with exactly the same sensation from just earlier, and from yesterday. I recognized the familiar presence immediately, and I didn't ignore it this time.

And I knew why it felt so familiar now. It was because I'd felt this same way when I'd arrived at the end of Skyview Temple, when I'd first met him.

A name flitted through my mind as I recalled what I felt like when I met him last. I finally remembered his name. I just wish it could have come to mind sooner.

The sensation of a scattered gaze boring into me from all every possible angle setting off sparks of fright and adrenaline. Yes, it really was him after all. There was no mistaking it anymore.

"Ghirahim, I know you're there."

As anticipated, the response was immediate when a soft, airy laugh broke the silence. The acknowledgement raised a more fervent reaction from me than expected, as misplaced excitement raced through my body and set my nerve endings alight in a way that it shouldn't have.

"Ah, so you really do remember me…How flattering…sky child."

/

**A/N: So Ghirahim's finally shown up! Things are always more interesting with him around. ^.^**

**Anyways, feel free to leave a review! ;) Chapter warnings will probably start appearing soon, too.**

**Updates are weekly**


	3. Bleak

**A/N: Hi, here's the next chapter! ^.^**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns TLoZ.**

**/**

"I thought you'd forgotten about me." Ghirahim's disembodied voice rippled through the air softly, tauntingly, "It made me quite sad."

I pursed my lips, every now and then letting my eyes scan the room, waiting for him to appear already. That uncanny teleporting ability; it was disconcerting like anything, and gave him a huge advantage. If he was able to just half-teleport or whatever and stay invisible, as it appeared he was doing, then it was even worse.

I almost believed that the last time we'd fought, he'd been going easy on me, which he'd kindly made a point to mention post battle. At the time, I dismissed it as arrogance, but now I wasn't so sure.

Exhaling slowly, I tried to assert some confidence, when currently, I didn't have much. After all, I didn't have any means of fighting him off in my weaponless state.

I couldn't be too aggressive either, or start issuing threats, either. My promises would be empty, impossible to fulfill at the moment. But I dismissed my doubts momentarily, and before I could question my actions further, I continued with what I'd started.

"Are you going to come out and talk to me properly or not?" I asked, trying not to flinch when I felt a soft, feather-light sensation run horizontally along my shoulder blades, like trailing fingertips.

"Hm? Well, if the sky brat wants to see me that badly, then I suppose so." He replied, voice dripping heavily with sarcasm and complacency. I winced at the name he'd called me, irritation pricking at my skin.

It was less than a second later that, true to his word, a cloud of glimmering red and gold hued diamonds appeared near the foot of my bed, and he appeared in their midst. He was sitting casually on the edge of the plain wooden table near the end of my bed, about two or three steps diagonally ahead from my left. The diamonds had all vanished silently into thin air, and he looked terribly out of place surrounded by the simple rustic interior designing of my room.

I immediately took a step back without thinking, having forgotten exactly what he looked like, how penetrating and unnerving his gaze was. It was like staring into an abyss, having that certain depth to it; however, at the same time, there was also a menacing and unsettling glint.

One visible dark eye met mine deviously, much unlike my own embarrassingly fearful gaze that I tried to rectify. Looking scared was exactly the thing I wanted to avoid.

If I hadn't already acknowledged it, Ghirahim loved instilling fright into his victims, and I was only egging him on by acting exactly the way he wanted. I absolutely was not going to let him intimidate me. After all, hadn't I been the one to ask him to show himself?

But then again…I had to remind myself that I didn't have any means to fight him off if things got out of hand. I had to keep him calm, like he was now, which meant that I'd just have to play along with him to get the information I wanted, lest I incur his wrath somehow. After what I'd seen of him at the Skyview Temple, I knew that he could lose it very easily.

He blinked lazily at me, lips curving into a smirk as he trailed one hand through the silvery white hair that obscured his other eye. The light that shone in through the open window played along his pale skin, giving it an almost translucent, and somehow flawless appearance.

"Did you have anything you wanted to say, sky child? Or did you just want to waste my time?" He drawled.

I resisted the temptation to rib back that it was actually the other way around, and shook my head abruptly instead. "No, but don't you have something to say? Why else would you be here?"

Ghirahim didn't react much, probably having expected this question. He lowered his gaze to his deep burgundy cape-like apparel that was draped over his shoulders. With languid movements, he smoothed out a nonexistent crease before looking back at me.

I gave him an expectant look, to which he merely laughed. "Ah, well if you really want to know…I didn't come to your quaint rock island to converse with you primarily. In fact, my intentions weren't to talk with you at all."

He paused, "At least, not yet. But when I realized that you had your pretty little head all set on finding me, I decided to oblige you. Besides, you seemed quite keen on 'investigating' earlier, what with you sneaking around quite ineloquently for evidence, so why not humor you with my presence? Satisfied?"

"No," I answered truthfully, feeling awkward from where I was standing. It was my own room, for Nayru's sake, but I felt much too uncomfortable. "But I'll let it slide."

A chiding, "Well, you're quite generous, aren't you?" Came from Ghirahim, but I ignored it, feeling a bit hung up on the 'investigating' jab, which was probably about when I was eavesdropping just earlier, and the 'pretty little head' comment.

He gave me an arrogant leer afterwards, rattling my nerves as I realized that my lack of a desired response might be unintentionally irritating him. I didn't ask for a fight, and I sure didn't want to cause one, either.

"And I guess I do have some things I wanted to say," I continued carefully, monitoring his expression. After no noticeable change, I went on, blurting out the first thing that came to mind, "…I think you know where the Ruby Tablet is."

"Ruby Tablet…I seem to recall what that is. But why should I know where it is? What nonsense would you be spewing out this time?"

His words came out smoothly; no falters or pauses. His demeanor was quite the same; completely at ease; there were no nervous twitches, no clenched hands, loss of eye contact, rigidness. If anything, my accusation didn't seem to affect him at all.

If he was lying, he was doing a mighty good job. "I'm not 'spewing' any 'nonsense'. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

A thought flitted through my mind, whispering 'why should he tell me when I'm clearly weaponless?', but I instantly ignored it.

"And what exactly would you be talking about?" He asked.

I sighed exasperatedly. He was toying with me. "The Ruby Tablet. I'm talking about the Ruby Tablet. You said you knew what that was, and I think you know its location, too. Actually, I know you do."

He shook his head once, the blue diamond that hung from a pointed ear swaying with the movement. "No, I don't know where it is. Why should I know where you misplace your stuff?"

"I didn't 'misplace' it." I snapped, "And what about the goddess sword? Did I 'misplace' that, too?"

A sudden flash of light made me flinch, but when the jewel toned diamonds vanished, I was given an answer to my question. "No, it's right here." Ghirahim said softly.

The demon twirled the goddess sword around in one gloved hand, somehow catching and balancing the blade between his pointer and middle fingers.

The corners of his lips curved slightly up in a smile that was more menacing than friendly. I gave him a hard stare, reigning in the intense temptation to just grab it from him. I knew that it would be foolish to just lunge over to take it when I had no means to defend myself if he chose to attack."Give it back. Now."

"That expression…" He paused, standing up. "On you, I find it quite…becoming."

I frowned, dropping the apparently becoming expression I'd been wearing. What the hell was he trying to accomplish here? Didn't he have his hands full with trying to find Zelda?

I sighed softly. Out of all the things that could have happened to my most important possession, specifically; the goddess sword, this was probably the worst case scenario. "Just give me back the goddess sword."

"No, I think I'd prefer not to…" He turned the sword around so that he was holding it properly. The blade was pointed casually at me, glinting in the light. "I've always wondered what it would be like to spill someone's blood with their own weapon…"

My eyes widened, then flickered back to the goddess sword when a sudden idea came to me. "Fi, are you still there? Can you do anything?!" I asked urgently. However; it was futile. Halfway through my second question, Ghirahim was already making the sword disappear again, ruining any chance I had to get it back. Enveloped in the same diamonds that it had appeared in, it disappeared, leaving only Ghirahim, who looked annoyed, but at the same time, vaguely relieved that he'd gotten rid of the sword before Fi could make herself appear.

I felt my hands shake. Traces of panic and humiliation seeped through my veins, cold and damp, contrasting greatly with the searing hot anger that was making my vision hazy. I was as good as dead now that my chances of retrieving the goddess sword were less than zero. Zelda may as well be dead, too, since I had such a low survival rate at this point. If I didn't protect her, I knew that Ghirahim would kill her, which would lead to a catastrophe of greater proportions than I could even fathom.

But still…I didn't give up easily. I wouldn't let this be the end, because even without Fi, I could still do this. "Y-you…Why did you take it?"

Ghirahim seemed greatly amused at the mix of emotions that my eyes were clearly displaying, and he turned to look to the side, so that I could only see his profile. "Perhaps I'll return it to you one day when I need some more entertainment."

The last word seemed to leave an imprint in my mind. Entertainment. This was just some sort of game to him. I turned away as well. "Whatever. Do you know where the Ruby Tablet is, then?"

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "No."

"Then what about what's been happening here?"

"You're referring to…?"

A long pause followed when I realized that he was still manipulating me for his amusement. A sliver of hurt settled in my chest. I wasn't being taken seriously; he was mocking me, and probably would continue to do so. But moreover, I just wished I knew what he was up to. All of his recent actions-even the ones he refused to admit to-had to lead to something else. Something more important.

Well, that's what I liked to believe.

I found my gaze fixated on the ground, asininely tracing the faded patterns on the area rug. He didn't have any reason to tell me anything whatsoever. He had no reason to take me seriously anyways. I shouldn't have acknowledged his presence at all if he was just going to act like this.

It was a foolish mistake. I furrowed my brow, fingers clenching and unclenching fractionally with suppressed agitation and nervousness.

He couldn't possibly be telling the truth about the Ruby Tablet, though. And nothing I could do would change that. He had no reason to tell the truth; he was my adversary, who unfortunately had the upper hand this time. It was just bad luck.

"I know exactly what's going through your head, sky child."

A sly voice jostled me back to the situation at hand.

"No, you don't." I retorted, eyes darting back up to meet his

"You're wrong. I do know what you're thinking, you brat. You're an open book." He cocked his head to the side, smirk vanishing to give him an almost innocent expression, masking the dangerous intent that glimmered in his eyes.

My mouth went dry. I'd never seen him look like that, and it was extremely unnerving, since I had no idea what to expect. I consciously went against my initial desire; to get the hell out of here. Instead, I held my ground to give some impression that I wasn't going to run away like a coward.

Nonetheless, I could still feel my weight shifting slightly towards the foot closest to the doorway, body angling a fraction towards the exit in case something bad were to happen.

"You think…" Ghirahim started, taking a step closer, expression still unreadable, "…that I'm lying, and that I'm manipulating you."

The last words came out in a whisper that immediately sent trills of fear up my spine. But what bothered me most was that he had read my mind perfectly. Was it that obvious?

"And maybe you're right." He continued.

I gathered the nerve to ask a question, still trapped under his disturbing, predatory gaze. "H-how did you manage to do all of it in a day?"

"Do all what?"

I swallowed, body freezing up as he took one more step closer, close enough that he probably could feel the barely concealed nervousness emanating from my body in waves. "Er, you know what I mean."

A white gloved hand reached towards my face, and I found that I couldn't move away. A finger traced a line down my cheek from the corner of my left eye, before breaking contact entirely. I held my breath, trying not to react or display what I was really feeling in my expression.

"Care to enlighten me?" He inquired after my lack of response. Again, I didn't reply, my body feeling unresponsive.

An odd, faintly curious expression flitted across Ghirahim's face before his hand lightly ghosted across my jawline and to my chin. My mind instantly went blank at the second unexpected touch. He angled my face up slightly, the tip of his pointer finger brushing across my bottom lip. This time, I couldn't stop the almost violent shiver that went through my body.

"Don't touch me." I snapped, roughly pushing his hand away while hastily backing up as I was brought out of my momentary frozen state. "Stop pretending that you're-"

My voice faltered, the word 'innocent' dying in my throat when I got a glimpse of his expression. Without hesitation, I bolted to the door.

/

"Darling? Are you okay?"

I looked up from where I was sitting after realizing that I was the one being addressed. After fleeing my room like a coward-and thankfully not being followed-I had somehow ended up in the Bazaar, and was currently sitting at one of the tables. My nerves were still rattled, my body buzzing with nervous energy. I could feel myself shaking slightly, but much to my relief, not visibly. Ghirahim had looked ready to kill me after I'd snapped at him for touching me. I hadn't been able to pretend I wasn't freaked out at that point.

I didn't know what he had wanted; what his goals were anymore.

After I'd gotten out of the Knight's Academy, my mind didn't seem to want to work properly, and I kept remembering the look he'd given me, because even if he hadn't looked angry, there was something sinister that had hung in the air, and it had terrified me more than I would ever admit out loud. At that moment, my instincts had taken over and had, for some reason, led me here.

There were definitely more people here than at the Knight's Academy, though, so I guess it made me feel a bit more secure and comfortable than when I was alone with Ghirahim. The general noise that filled the building was vaguely calming when compared to the eerie silence of my room.

Nevertheless, I still couldn't stop from being on edge after what had just transpired.

"Oh, hey Peatrice." I greeted, overlooking the term of endearment the other had called me. "Yeah, I…I'm okay."

The blonde girl pouted slightly. She must have come over from where she worked at the Item Check counter to ask if I was alright. Her gaze was painfully sympathetic, and I tried not to grimace. "Did something happen? You look like you just saw a ghost. It doesn't have anything to do with the strange stuff that's been happening, does it?"

I quickly smiled, covering up whatever expression I must have been wearing before. "No, it doesn't." I lied, "And I'm fine." I added a bit too hastily.

She raised an eyebrow as though she didn't believe me.

"No, no, really-I'm honestly okay!"

Peatrice eyed me doubtfully, but finally conceded. "Well, if you say so. But remember; if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask! I'd stay here, but I'm supposed to be at my counter…"

"Oh, I'll be fine!" I hurriedly interjected, with more enthusiasm than it was probably worth. If I was being honest, the girl could be very trying, and after her sudden attachment to me, it was probably best not to lead her on. Still, the indirect rejection met deaf ears. "Anyway, I can take care of myself." I tried to give her a proper smile.

She fluttered her eyelashes, her earlier concern having dissipated, "I'm sure you'll be fine, sweetie. You're quite strong, after all."

An embarrassed and slightly pained wince went unnoticed by her. "Um-"

"So, well...I guess I'll be just over there. But we'll chat again soon!" She gave me a small wave before returning to her counter. I returned the wave halfheartedly with an awkward grin on my face, and then turned back to the table I was sitting at.

Was I really that expressive? I'd never pinned myself as that kind of person, but when people were constantly asking about my well-being, or commenting on my expression…Even Ghirahim had mentioned how I looked. And more than once, too.

I rested my right elbow on the wood of the table, my hand slipping behind my neck. When I was sitting alone, and idle like this, it probably looked a bit strange. But it wasn't as though I had better things to do…

Then I frowned; I had to be forgetting something. Quickly, I wracked my brain, almost wanting to hit myself when I suddenly remembered.

"Damn it." I muttered softly.

Without wasting any more time, I got up and left the Bazaar, the noise fading when I got outside again. It was around midday, about the exact time I'd arrived back here yesterday. The bright sun from this morning had been semi-obscured by clouds, and the temperature had dropped marginally, but it wasn't unpleasant.

Still, it did nothing to ease my tension from earlier. Was Ghirahim still in my room? Was he just waiting for me to return?

I shuddered at the thought. Judging from his reaction to when I pushed him away for touching me, he probably wasn't in a civilized mood. But the only way to find out was to go check. I felt embarrassed for my actions earlier, for having fled like that.

When I reached the doors to the Knight's Academy, I found myself hesitating, though. If he was still there, I knew things wouldn't be good for me. But if I didn't return, then I was just being cowardly and foolish.

Yet at the back of my mind, I found myself wondering if it was more foolish to confront Ghirahim, or to stay away. At some point, pride didn't matter. It was more about safety, not about what's the most dignified or what was least humiliating.

Finally, I entered the building, hating the dread that settled inside me. It was a cold, and altogether not very comfortable feeling, like drowning, which had sort of happened once when I was practicing swimming when I was much younger. It had been a stupid mistake after venturing in a bit too deep and not having anybody close enough to keep an eye on me.

I remembered how my consciousness had started to fade into black, eating away at the edges of my vision slowly. My lungs were burning from the lack of oxygen, mouth closed as tightly as possible to stop swallowing water. But after a certain point, I remember just losing my energy and letting the water into my mouth and nose, stopping my struggles because I was barely aware enough of myself to put up a fight anymore.

Luckily, I'd been dragged out of the water by one of the adults here in Skyloft-I don't remember who, since I had lost consciousness-and was saved. The cold feeling that had washed over me at the time bore an uncanny resemblance to the anxious sensation I was currently experiencing, albeit emotionally and not physically.

A shiver ran through my body at the memory that had been dredged up, and I quickly forced it into the far back of my mind. Ghirahim was the problem now. Not something that had happened over ten years ago.

I started down the hallway, heading to the classroom that I'd last heard Karane and the others in. I had to talk to someone about what had happened. I had to warn them before Ghirahim did anything to them or to myself, for that matter.

As I neared the classroom again, I found it unusual how I didn't feel that like anyone was watching me anymore.

Ghirahim's presence had completely vanished.

I didn't understand why I could sense his presence most of the time, but there was just something about him that alerted me if he was nearby. Like an aura or something.

I shook my head and walked into the classroom; there was no way to prove something as intangible as that.

"Oh!" Karane jumped when she heard me enter the room. She looked utterly startled, but quickly regained her composure, smiling sheepishly. The others had left, and she had been alone. "Er, it's just you, Link. Sorry about that. I'm just a bit on edge this morning."

"Yeah, it's okay. I just wanted to tell you about some stuff I noticed. You told me to talk to you if I saw anything strange…" I replied, walking closer to where she was standing by the bookshelves.

She nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"Um…" I paused, unsure of exactly what to tell her. I definitely didn't plan on directly telling her about Ghirahim, but I knew that it would probably be good if I told her something or other, since it was probably my fault that all of this had happened. After all, if I hadn't gone to the Surface and hadn't met Ghirahim, then what were the chances that he would come up here and start causing trouble? The problems were undoubtedly related to me in some way. "I…uh, I guess I keep feeling as though there's someone watching me…" I started lamely.

Karane nodded, eyes returning to a book she was holding. She flipped through a few of the pages languidly. "Watching? Like following you around?"

"Kind of."

"But you haven't seen anything, right?"

I paused, and bit my lip before deciding that it would be best not to tell the truth here. "Not rea-"

"Link?" Karane looked up from the book at my fumbled response, cutting me off. "What do you mean?"

"No, I mean I haven't seen anything or anyone." I quickly answered, feeling guilt well up in my chest. "I've only felt like there's someone that's watching me recently. But not all the time."

She nodded slowly, doubt etched clearly on her face. "Some other people said stuff like that to me, but I don't want to say who, because…you know. They didn't want me to tell anyone."

"What did they say?"

"That they were feeling a presence. But they didn't say 'watching'. They were saying that they just felt something weird. But only in passing."

"Oh…" That confirmed it. Ghirahim really was after just me. I tried conceal my feelings of unease, not wanting to give away anything. I could already sense that Karane was starting to get suspicious of me for some reason or another, but I had to remind myself that when people were nervous and there was no obvious solution, suspicion and fear controlled them; not necessarily logic. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the case.

Karane gauged my reaction, which I kept as neutral as possible before going on, seemingly satisfied with my response. "Yeah, well, everyone's really paranoid. Including myself." She laughed softly, "I'm trying not to get too weird-ed out, but when everyone else's so nervous, it gets contagious."

I suddenly remembered what Fi had told me yesterday when I returned from the Surface; everyone was nervous so they were in the busier parts of Skyloft as a way of, sometimes subconsciously, monitoring everyone else's behaviors. "Well, it makes sense, I guess."

Karane turned back to the shelf to return the book she held before turning back to me. "If you're not too spooked, I'll tell you something else." She said in a quieter voice.

"What is it?" I pressed.

She hesitated slightly, but went on. "Well, don't tell anyone else this, but apparently two nights ago when Pipit was on patrol, he heard voices probably a bit after midnight. I don't think you were here then, so you wouldn't have noticed."

"Yeah, I just got back to Skyloft yesterday." I clarified. My voice dropped fractionally. "But where was he patrolling? Whose voices were they?"

Karane furrowed her brows, leaning against a nearby desk. She fidgeted, adjusting her green hat slightly. "He was patrolling the halls here…" Her voice trailed off awkwardly, but she coughed and began again. "Er, I don't know if I should tell you this…but, um…"

"No, you don't have to." I quickly interjected, even though I was burning with curiosity. "If Pipit didn't want you to tell anyone, then seriously, it's okay."

She dismissed my comments." No, I'll tell you anyway." I was about to cut in again, but she continued. "And it wasn't really 'voices'. It was more just one voice, but I mean, I wasn't there, so I don't know."

So it was just one person talking. That meant that it might not be who I thought it would be; Ghirahim and someone else. No, because now it was only one voice, which didn't make a lot of sense. Moreover, why would someone be talking to themselves in the middle of the night, especially considering the academy rules. One of them was that we were supposed to keep the noise down after a certain time at night.

"Was someone just talking in their sleep or something? I heard that Cawlin does." I pointed out. Cawlin was another kid around my age who was also at the Knight's Academy. He wasn't very tall-actually, he was shorter than me, which, although I hated to admit it, was quite something-had some sort of grudge against me for some reason or other, and had a crush on Karane that was painfully obvious to almost everyone.

The redhead made a slight face, "No, it wasn't him. Pipit told me that it was like someone was having a conversation by themselves. It wasn't actually that loud, but he only noticed the voice when he passed by the door." Another hesitation, then, "Well, fine, I guess I should just tell you whose room it was..." She sighed, "Have you noticed anyone acting stranger than usual?"

I quickly wracked my brain, trying to remember the behaviour of everyone I'd been in contact with recently, and if anyone had acted out of the ordinary, but the only person I could come up with was Fledge.

"Um, Fledge? That's the only person I can think of."

Karane looked a bit surprised, then thoughtful. "So it's not just me."

That definitely caught me off guard. "What? You're saying that he was talking to himself?"

"No," She corrected. "Not talking to himself. But having a one sided conversation, Pipit said. He told me that it was as though he was talking to someone, but whoever it was had been answering really quietly or wasn't there at all, because he hadn't heard anyone else. When he knocked at the door, Fledge came to answer it, and Pipit told me that he couldn't see anyone else in the room with him after the door opened. Apparently Fledge was very nervous looking, and was shaking, but he-"

'Ghirahim' was the first thing that I thought of. But it didn't makes sense that he would go after Fledge. However, if it was Ghirahim, then it definitely had something to do with the more nervous than usual behavior that had been exhibited.

"Link, what's wrong?" Karane cut herself off and I was jolted out of my thoughts. "You just looked a a bit zoned out…Sorry if I'm boring you."

"No, that's not it. I was just thinking about what you said."

She sighed. "Don't let it get to you too much. We can't do much about it. I just hope that nobody does anything they regret…"

"What do you mean?"

"Hm? Nothing, really. Just be careful, the past few days has been really tough for everyone, and I guess I'm just worried." Her expression clouded over, but she quickly shook her head and smiled again. "Ah, I'm probably just being pessimistic."

I shrugged. "Maybe." I started towards the door again, giving her a small wave, "I have to go now, but I'll talk to you some other time."

Karane nodded, "Feel free to grab any extra blankets. There's a supply closet you can get them from, 'cause it's getting kind of cold outside..."

"Okay, thanks." I replied as she turned back to the bookshelves.

I left the classroom immediately afterwards. I didn't feel like I was being watched, but there were more worries gnawing at my insides now. If Ghirahim was starting to terrorize other people for whatever reason, then he was taking things a bit too far.

He could hang around me however much he wanted, could do whatever he wanted to me, but I would never allow him to take it out on anyone else. I wouldn't let him get to the others. It was my job to protect them, not to let stupid things like this happen. Wasn't it me who he was after, since I was the one that would be most likely to interfere with his plans?

I went down the hallway again, this time in the direction of my room. If I had known that he was targeting the other Skyloftians, then I would have given myself up without hesitation. Some might call it heroic, but it was just the right thing to do. This was my responsibility, and it was painful to imagine him going after anyone else. So if I could give myself up in exchange for everyone else's safety, I would definitely take the opportunity and fight back as soon as possible.

I valued other's lives more than I valued my own, and I would do anything to keep everyone else safe. If offering myself up was the least I could do, then so be it.

When I arrived at my door, I entered without hesitation, but even before I opened the door, I knew that Ghirahim was not here anymore. I was alone.

After I'd closed the door behind me, I noticed the drop in temperature that Karane had mentioned, a slight shiver running through my body. I quickly went and closed the window, blocking out the weak rays of light and preventing the now chilly wind from entering the room.

I couldn't feel Ghirahim's presence anymore, and it felt like it was ages since I last saw him, even though it was only a bit earlier this morning. By now, it had to be around noon.

I turned away from the closed window, going to sit on my bed. I sighed softly, feeling drained of energy. Too much had happened in too short a time frame. I'd lost Fi, and the Ruby Tablet, overheard some stuff that I wished I hadn't overheard, conversed with Ghirahim, fled from Ghirahim, went to talk with Karane, and had been presented with even more disturbing news.

And now it was cold, and I was freaked out over what Ghirahim would do next.

I couldn't predict his next move, and I knew that weaponless, I couldn't do much to protect the ones I had vowed to keep safe.

Even though I hated admitting it, I was actually pretty nervous, and I didn't know what my next move should be. Ghirahim was manipulating us like puppets, and it seemed like this was all part of some elaborate scheme to get to me and stop me from saving Zelda, who I could only pray was alright.

Tiredly, I pushed the depressing thoughts away and went to go leave the room again. There wasn't anything I could do here, so the best bet would be to talk to some more people and see if I could find out anything useful, because right now, as things were, I didn't like the idea of leaving everyone here in Skyloft while I went to the Surface.

In fact, it was probably best if I stayed in Skyloft, where the biggest threats seemed to be.

But just as I got to my feet, something caught my eye. Something on my desk.

I went over and looked down at the folded paper that I swore hadn't been present when I'd last been here. With apprehension, I picked it up and unfolded it. Elegant handwriting in a blood red jumped out at me from the clean whiteness of the paper.

But that wasn't what bothered me; it was what was written.

There were only three words.

"You will shatter."

**/**

**A/N: Okay, so hopefully you're understanding this, ahaha... xD Also, next update should be a week from now!**

**And I'd love it if you reviewed! :)**


	4. Conflagrant

**A/N: So, here's chapter 4! It's slightly shorter this time, but nevertheless; I hope you like it!**

**And thank you so much for any reviews, follows, and/or favorites! :)**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns TLoZ.**

**/**

"Hey! Wait up!" I called after Fledge as I caught up to him. I'd seen him just inside earlier, but he had avoided me and had run outside. Now we were both in the open, still close to the entrance of the Skyloft's Knight's Academy, but not in any way shielded from the now freezing wind.

It had picked up some more, and I could see a few other Skyloftians returning from being out with their loftwings. When it was windy or cold like this, it was too risky to be out flying.

Fledge looked back at me with what appeared to be shame. "What is it, Link?"

"I just-I mean, what's gotten into you?" I asked. At this point, I was almost certain that Ghirahim had been using him for some purpose; perhaps to get to me, and I wasn't going to put up with it for much longer. I just had to get that through to Fledge so he'd understand that I was on his side and that he didn't have to avoid me.

"Nothing."

I raised an eyebrow. "No, it's not nothing. You're avoiding me."

"N-no, I'm not…I wouldn't-"

"Fledge, just stop it. What did I do wrong?" I quickly put the blame on myself so that he would open up. I knew that I hadn't done anything wrong, but if this was the only way to get him to talk, then it had to be done.

"You didn't do anything wrong!" He quickly said, taking the bait.

"Then why're you avoiding me?"

Fledge tensed. "I'm not…"

I sighed. "Yeah, you are."

A shake of the head.

I looked away, trying to conceal my frustration. He wasn't going to tell me anything. That only supported my theory that Ghirahim was involved. He probably ordered him not to tell me anything, maybe even blackmailing him.

That meant that if I wanted any information, I'd have to get it straight from Ghirahim.

"Okay, fine." I finally conceded, "Anyway, you should go inside. It's too cold out here."

He blinked in surprise, probably because I gave up so quickly. "B-but what about you?"

I shook my head. "I'm just going to be out here for a bit longer."

Fledge gave a hesitant nod and then scurried back inside, casting a few confused glances over his shoulder. If Ghirahim wasn't involved in this somehow, then his strange behaviour was a complete mystery to me.

I was still left in the dark about most things. What was Ghirahim up to? What business did he have with someone like Fledge? Of all people, why would he choose someone as timid and easily influenced as him?

I suddenly realized that I was wrong.

Ghirahim had chosen Fledge for that very reason; because he would be easy to intimidate and manipulate.

What still didn't make sense was why he was going about this in such an inconvenient manner. If he wanted to get me-because I couldn't imagine who else he'd be after besides Zelda-then why not just go directly to me?

He'd made it pretty clear that he was after me, what with taking the goddess sword, and not even pretending that he hadn't. As for the other things I'd inquired about, he hadn't been as clear about them. He hadn't even confessed to taking the Ruby Tablet or to causing all those disturbances earlier. It didn't add up.

I hugged myself, shivering slightly from the cold. My eyes drifted up, above my head, where the blue sky was quickly getting obscured by thick, grayish, altogether unpleasant looking clouds.

The light from the sun was being blotted out, making everything dark and dreary.

We didn't usually get bad weather here, but every now and then it happened, so this wasn't too strange. It probably wouldn't get that much worse. Maybe just a bit of rain or something…

Either way, I didn't really mind it that much. It was nice to just be outside again. I realized that this was what I needed.

To get away from the academy for a few minutes.

It felt too claustrophobic inside. Well, ever since my most recent encounter with Ghirahim.

I just needed some time alone, mostly. Most Skyloftians were probably inside now to get out of the cold and be sheltered from the wind and the most likely to come rain. That meant that more people would be inside. More people to be suspicious of me for whatever reason.

And I probably appeared suspicious, too. I knew more than they did about the current situation, and knowledge could be dangerous. If I let on that I knew more than them, then I could get blamed for the most recent things that had happened.

I knew that that was only partly true, but I didn't really have any more control over the situation than they did.

A particularly strong gust of wind made my steps falter slightly, and brought me away from the thoughts churning around in my mind.

Instinctively, I looked around to make sure that nobody was out flying. It was definitely too dangerous at this point, and I didn't want anybody to get hurt.

A quick scan of the area told me that pretty much everyone had gone inside. I could only see someone taking in some laundry that had been hanging up, and Beedle, who ran a small store, landing his airship on the plaza. He usually didn't land here, but I guess it would be too risky to stay airborne with the growing tempest.

Another shiver ran through my body at the cold wind that stung at my exposed face and my fingers, where the gauntlets did not cover. Some of my hair blew in my face, and I brushed it away.

I looked back at the academy. It would probably be best to go inside now. I'd had enough time to think.

My feet started to lead me back towards the building when I realized that I was holding something.

I'd been so distracted and caught up with talking to Fledge that I hadn't even noticed.

I wasn't so forgetful. This wasn't like me, and because of that, I found myself feeling more than a bit disconcerted.

A crumpled paper.

Blood red script.

I breathed the words even before I smoothed out the paper. "You will shatter."

A few moments passed, my gaze locked on elegant writing before I ripped the paper up into tiny pieces until I couldn't read it anymore.

It was just a stupid note, a disturbing one at that, but it didn't matter. I knew who it was from, I knew what it had said. That was all that mattered. I opened my hand and let the wind take the shreds of paper away.

They swirled around in the breeze before scattering on the different currents, vanishing from sight.

"What'll you do next, Ghirahim?" I asked quietly.

But I knew he wasn't around to hear.

/

Torrents of rain battered Skyloft, the sound of the wind buffeting the sides of houses and whipping around the trees, created a cacophony of sounds that permeated the walls. It droned on and on through the night, making sleep difficult.

After finally falling unconscious, I found that it did nothing to lessen my tiredness. In fact, I felt completely unrested once I'd woken up at what was presumably morning. It was so gray and cloudy outside that it was hard to see the sun. Its light only broke through the clouds once or twice with pale, watery light.

Once I'd come inside after ripping up Ghirahim's note yesterday, I'd tried socializing with some more people, but everyone seemed just slightly too distant for my liking, and I'd soon given up. Most Skyloftians were still a bit on edge after what had happened only a few days before, and didn't seem too keen on talking.

Still, I didn't blame them. I was feeling disconcerted, too. I knew that Ghirahim was up to something, but I didn't know what, and that made me nervous.

I didn't know what his next move would be, and I wanted to be prepared this time.

And when it began raining yesterday evening, everyone was officially advised against flying, and being cooped up inside didn't help with the way everyone's suspicions were skyrocketing. It just made everyone feel trapped and-most likely-afraid.

Unfortunately, the wind and rain hadn't ceased, meaning that we were still stuck here.

If Ghirahim decided to pull anything today, then we'd all be confined in one place, since flying was too dangerous. This also meant that I was stuck in Skyloft and couldn't go down to the Surface.

It wasn't like I could do much good there, but I still would have liked to, rather than stay here feeling useless.

"Oi, Link, you said you wanted to get a new sword, right? Any preference?" The Knight Commander Eagus was asking me. He was a largish brawny man with a close cut brown beard and a hat which covered most of his hair. "I have these two that should be the right weight and size for you. Pick either."

He held two similar blades; modest, but still able to fulfill their purpose. Still, nothing to gawk at.

And clearly lacking that glimmer of life that Fi provided in the goddess sword. But I'd have to make do until I could get her back.

Nonetheless, I had come to the Sparring Hall for a reason, and I needed a new weapon if I was going to defend myself. For now, these were probably the best weapons I'd find.

"Um…" I glanced between the two before gesturing to the one in Eagus' right hand, the one that looked the most like what I was used to. "That one is probably good."

He passed it to me carefully, so as not to cut myself on the newly sharpened blade. I weighed it in my hand, taking a few practise swings, and then nodded. I turned it over in my hand a few times, watching the indoor lights reflect off the flat, shiny part of the blade. "Yeah, this'll be fine. Thanks."

He nodded and grinned widely. "Great! Let me know if you need any extra training."

"Okay, sure thing." I turned to leave, but then stopped myself when an idea struck me. "Um, there's something else, actually."

"Hm? Was there anything you needed?"

"Er…I was wondering if I could just take a look through the weapons supply. There's something I'm looking for."

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

I fidgeted slightly, my boots scuffing the ground softly. "I, uh…what types of weapons do you keep here?"

"Well, we have a pretty good variety…Any kind in particular?"

"Um, a dagger or something like that?"

Goddess, he was probably going to get suspicious now. I tried not to look too nervous, and I almost winced at the appraising look he gave me.

"We don't have a lot of daggers…"

I bit my lip. "Did you get any new ones recently?"

He immediately caught on, and his expression went stern. "You heard about that incident, then, didn't you?" I nodded stiffly, and he sighed. "I didn't see, but just recently I was given a set of daggers, and I was informed of what happened. Word's been going around, too. Apparently, you weren't there when it happened. Nothing's troubled you?"

I shook my head, trying to look convincing. It must have worked, since he relaxed a bit.

"Thank Farore. Anyway, you wanted to see those daggers, right?" He went on.

"Yeah."

He looked thoughtful before he continued. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to show you one of them. You're a good kid, and I'm sure you had nothing to do with it. I just don't want you to lose your nerve."

I mentally breathed a sigh of relief as he headed into a back room before returning a few seconds later, holding one dagger out. "Here's one of them. Careful, now."

He passed the blade to me, and I took it hesitantly. My fingers brushed over the red diamond that was welded into the broadest face of the weapon.

A strange feeling washed over me, and I gripped it tighter, a sharp sensation making me grimace. "I knew it…" This sealed it. There was no doubt in my mind that Ghirahim was behind everything now. Not after seeing this. This was definitely his, and I was glad that I had confirmed it.

In this 'game'-as Ghirahim would probably call it-uncertainty could be deadly.

Commander Eagus shot me a puzzled expression. "Knew what?"

I blinked. "Uh, I-um, knew th-that it wasn't just a rumor." I quickly improvised. Had I really said that out loud?

He nodded uncertainly. "No, it wasn't a rumor. It sure did happen. I'd never seen a dagger like that before."

"Can I hang on to this?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Eagus looked completely miffed.

"What for?"

I grimaced uncomfortably. "Ah, never mind. Here."

Reluctantly, my grip lessened as I went to pass it back, and I winced slightly as I felt a numbness in my left hand, the one that held the dagger. My other hand held the newly acquired sword.

A sticky warmth clung to my fingers, and I looked down. Surprise flitted across my face as I found blood seeping from around the dagger and through my gauntlet. Part of my hand had been touching the sharp edges of the blade. I'd held it too tight, not even noticing when I'd cut the palm of my hand.

"Link! Are you okay?" Eagus quickly interjected, eyes wide and concerned. He went to take the dagger away, but I recoiled.

"Y-yeah, it's fine. Actually, c-can I just keep th-this after all?" I shakily replied, not letting go of the blade. I could feel small rivulets of blood running down my fingers. Hastily, I angled my hand so as to stop any blood from landing on the ground.

"No, you're hurt. You can't keep-"

"Um, I think I'm going to head out now, sorry…" I quickly turned back, feeling faintly nauseous at the unexpected attachment I felt for the dagger; the sudden temptation to keep it. I needed some time alone to think. I felt strange, and I had to figure out what was going on.

A hand caught the wrist of my good hand, and I stumbled slightly, glancing behind me. "Yes, Commander?"

The burly-looking man took the dagger from my hand, eyes still filled with worry. Dark blood dripped tauntingly from the sharp point of the weapon. It made me think of Ghirahim. "You go get your hand bandaged up, Link. And try to be more careful."

The sudden desire to snatch the dagger back was overwhelming, but I fought it. I looked away as he let go of my wrist. "…Okay."

I left without waiting for a reply.

/

Outside, the elements didn't hold back, and I found myself getting more anxious with every passing moment. I leaned against the hard stone wall behind me, feeling cold and damp, but not caring much.

The passage that led into the goddess statue provided some shelter from the rain and wind, and it was better than being inside where everyone else was. Not because of the physical surroundings, but because I needed to be alone; because I didn't feel quite right. I felt almost…like I was missing something important? No…more like…I was…

I shook my head, my thoughts incoherent and scattered. The only thing I could be certain of was that I really wished I could have kept that dagger.

It disturbed me that I would have wanted to keep something of Ghirahim's, but it was probably nothing. I'd felt the same when I'd ripped up the note, but at the time, I had just pushed it away. This time, I couldn't ignore it.

It was almost like some sick indirect pull towards Ghirahim, and that just made me worried. It was probably just because I disliked him so much.

My hand still throbbed painfully, drawing my gaze away from the rain and wind outside. The cut was still bleeding. It had been deeper than I'd noticed before. It made it almost impossible to form a fist without wincing.

I probably shouldn't have come out here. It would have been better had I gone to get it bandaged, if I had gone inside, like Commander Eagus advised; where it was warm and dry. Being out here, I wouldn't be surprised if I got sick.

"Ghirahim, this is all your fault…" I hissed, my good hand instinctively tightening on the hilt of my sword.

A shudder ran through my body, and it took me a few moments before I realized that it wasn't just because of the frigid wind from outside. That same feeling of familiarity clung to my skin, and made me glance around.

The feeling of an unseen presence hung in the air around me as though I'd summoned it, which I very well might have.

Speak of the devil.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the cold stone, exhaling softly. "Why are you here this time?"

The reply was quiet, blending in eerily with the sounds of the storm outside. "Why are you asking when you know you won't be satisfied with my answer?"

I shrugged, letting my eyes crack open in time to see a few flashes of light dissipate.

He was here, one visible dark eye gleaming tauntingly, despite the shadows cast by the churning clouds above combined with the darkness inside the arched passage.

Ghirahim wasn't wearing his usual attire, either, since it couldn't possibly have been very water resistant or warm, and instead donned a dark cloak and a slightly less revealing outfit underneath. As for me, I hadn't bothered changing into anything warmer, but at least the fabric of my tunic was pretty waterproof.

Leaning against the opposite wall, a bit farther in the passageway, it was difficult to see many details, but the demon lord's frustratingly self-righteous expression didn't go unnoticed.

"Fine, but just humor me." I sighed, trying not to shiver again as I was caught in a draft of cold air. I could practically taste his arrogance, and it made me feel too insecure to ask him about the note he'd left me.

"Very well, sky child. But tell me; is there anything wrong with merely wanting to pass the time with someone?"

"And I guess that someone would be me?" I let out a short, humorless laugh, trying to look apathetic when I felt quite the opposite. "Whatever you say, I'm sure you have your reasons. But I'm not feeling great today, so it's your loss if you want to waste your time."

I sensed rather than saw the predatory gaze that was cast upon me. "You're quite bitter, aren't you?" He chuckled. "I guess that can't be helped, not when you've become such a useless pawn…"

"And we all know whose fault that is." I retorted.

"Blaming others for your own problems will never get you anywhere in life, hero. I thought you were more intelligent than that."

I tensed and sent him a glare. "You…You're-Can you just tell me what's going on already?"

"I suppose it would only be polite…" He took a few sauntering steps past me and closer to the entry, gazing outside, his voice trailing off. With his back to me, I couldn't see his expression, and then a sudden idea struck me. It was underhanded, but if it worked, then it might be my salvation.

Quickly, I lifted my sword hand and bit my lip, bracing my feet against the gritty, damp stones underneath me. I angled my blade so as to deliver a death blow, and then went to drive the weapon into his midsection, right where his heart would be.

It happened so suddenly that I didn't even see him move.

The tip of the blade was caught between two gloved fingers in an iron grasp. My hand shook slightly with pressure he applied. He raised an eyebrow challengingly, "Yes?"

I glowered and yanked the weapon out of his grasp, faintly surprised when he let go so easily. Feeling annoyed, I leaned back against the wall again. Ghirahim gave me a strange look that I couldn't decipher before he laughed airily. "You're excruciatingly predictable. It can be rather tiresome."

I gave a small sigh in response, my hand lowering until the tip of the sword clanged softly against the ground. My other hand felt numb with cold. I glanced at it, watching as the still-open cut oozed more of my life force.

A tiny drop of the crimson liquid trailed down my pointer finger from under my gauntlet. Ghirahim followed my gaze and I could see a disturbing glimmer in his eye when he caught sight of the blood.

"It looks like you injured yourself, sky child. How distressing…"

I went to wipe off the blood on my tunic, but stopped when I saw Ghirahim's expression. "What of it?" I asked hesitantly.

"You shouldn't let such precious blood be spilt."

His eyes filled with an unnerving gleam that made me feel a bit sick. "Let me help you."

I gaped as he suddenly snatched my hand up in his and a warmth spread over my fingers. His serpentine tongue lapped at the blood in a disturbing way and I froze. "W-What the hell are you doing?!"

He didn't answer my question and ripped off my blood soaked gauntlet to get better access to the injury.

"Hey, stop it!" I said through gritted teeth. I couldn't decide whether to lash out at him or just get away.

Surprisingly, he acted before me and actually stopped like I'd asked. His tongue, stained red, flicked out to lick his lips. "Mm, you're quite…" Ghirahim paused, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes, "…Tempting."

I withdrew my hand completely, wincing at the sting from the cut. Without the gauntlet, I could see that the skin was sliced down through my palm over the heart line. It was deep, and since Ghirahim had 'cleaned' away the rest of the blood, the area underneath the skin was white with pinpricks of red that grew. Blossoms of red dribbled out from the cut when I flexed my fingers.

It was nauseating.

"Don't do that again." I snapped, about to continue when he cut in silkily.

"Do you blame me?" He tilted his head slightly to the side. "Or yourself? Or rather…do you blame the blade that cut you?"

"What do you mean?" I replied impatiently, bending to pick up my discarded gauntlet and proceeding to wipe off my hand on my tunic. The blood from the wound left a faint reddish stain in the fabric, but I ignored it.

"I mean that you're an even greater imbecile than I presumed if you think I don't recognize a wound from my own weapon."

So he knew that I'd cut myself with one of his own daggers. "It doesn't matter how it happened."

He smirked. "Oh, but it does. Why did you seek them out?"

"Seek what out?"

I found my patience running thinner than usual, probably due to a combination of the unfavorable weather and the circumstances.

"Seek out that which belongs to me. The daggers." He replied smoothly. "And myself."

"I didn't-"

"Yes, you did…You won't even admit it." Ghirahim paused thoughtfully. "…It really is true…"

"What's true? What won't I admit?" He glared at me.

"Learn to hold your tongue, foolish boy. I'm not here to answer all your questions...I suppose your actions could be connected with the fate's influence, in a way. It does possess some truth, and you've experienced it firsthand."

I looked away, breathing out angrily. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm aware of that." Ghirahim answered, peering back outside as though searching for something. He turned back to me. "But I'll explain anyway whether you understand or not. Imagine a finely woven tapestry that is the present, past, and future. It's what some call destiny, but I don't normally use such petty terms. So one day, part of it was torn, and now you're…ensnared. And unfortunately I am, too. A flaw in that filthy goddess' plans, perhaps." He scowled as he spoke the last words, and then went on, "I honestly can't say that I enjoy being at the base of a statue made in her honor…"

I frowned, watching the wind whip through Skyloft. "…You're not making any sense."

He sighed dramatically, casting a weary gaze in my direction. "Someone of your intellect might not. I'll rephrase it…"

There was a pause as Ghirahim thought of what words would be suitable for me to understand, and I made a face. I was tempted to try to attack him again, but I knew it would be futile. It wouldn't work.

He would only get upset, and I knew that I didn't want to get any further on his bad side.

I'd already interfered with his plans to capture Zelda once before, and even though I had no idea why he was here, I knew that it would be unwise to anger him.

Casually, he moved closer to me, looking pensive. He looked at me, and then reached to touch my cheek. I didn't tell him to move away this time. After seeing his expression yesterday after telling him not to touch me, I was too nervous to do anything.

His hand caressed my face, and I could feel the softness of his gloves.

I dropped my gaze, body stiff with cold, yet also with the growing fear that he'd decide to end me right now.

Ghirahim angled my face upwards, forcing me to look at him like last time. His expression was strangely unreadable, but all I could think was that he was much too close for my liking. Oddly enough, I didn't try to move away, and that concerned me more than the first fact.

"I figured it out. You'll understand now, sky child." He said softly, his cool breath ghosting lightly across my face. "You and I, we're bound by a thread of fate."

And then very slowly, he closed the gap between us and brushed his lips against mine.

My mind shut down.

I didn't respond at all, still in a state of shock, but luckily, it didn't last long either. In actuality, it couldn't have been longer than two seconds tops, yet to me, it had felt much longer than that. Instead of blushing, which would probably be normal under-well, normal circumstances, I felt my face drain of color at the…almost-kiss.

He pulled away entirely, leaning against the opposite wall as though nothing had happened. His expression was a mixture of restraint and expectation, and he wasn't even looking at me. I still hadn't moved a muscle, and I didn't even have time to register what had just happened.

I tried to get words out of my mouth, but only managed a strangled sounding 'what'.

His eyes flitted back at me and then outside again. I noticed how his pupils seemed to dilate in anticipation.

There was suddenly a loud boom, like an explosion. I flinched more violently than I'd like to admit, and had to force myself look outside.

Ghirahim turned back to me with a sadistic smirk on his face, an expression I recognized.

And it never meant anything good.

"Ah, it seems the show's just begun…" He gestured outside where rain was falling in heavy sheets, water cascading from the tossing black clouds above. The wind roared in appreciation.

Another explosion shook the ground, and I was completely snapped out of my petrified state, eyes darting outside. The earlier actions were immediately forgotten.

Panic flooded my mind as I saw the plumes of smoke. They rose into the already dark skies, blending in with the clouds. Their source; the bright burning flames that lapped at the sky, refusing to be distinguished by the storm.

Ghirahim only laughed.

/

**A/N: Please review if you have time!**

**And you know the drill; updates are weekly! ^.^**


	5. Dyed

**A/N: Hi! Here's Ch5 (finally)! Sorry that it's short. I've just been extremely busy lately; I'm very sorry for missing last update, too. :'(**

**Anyway, thanks again to all reviewers! ^.^ And thank you for any favs/follows, too!**

**Warnings: A bit of GhiraLink [Ghirahim x Link], some violence/blood**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns TLoZ.**

**/**

"What the hell did you do!?" I demanded, whirling around to face Ghirahim.

He looked like he was trying to keep his expression neutral, but his visible eye was glimmering unnervingly. "I've been here the entire time, so I couldn't have done anything personally; you can testify to that. Use your head, sky child."

I glanced back outside just as a series of explosions shook the ground. I put my hand on the wall to keep my balance, wincing when I realized that it was the injured one. It left a streak of dark red blood on the slightly damp stones.

"Just-I know you have something to do with this." I insisted, gritting my teeth. "I have to go see if everyone's okay…"

From what I could tell, the fire was coming from near the Bazaar. It was difficult to see from this angle, but the general location was clear enough. I could see the tips of the flames as they licked the sky and the smoke that was rising from the explosions. It made a darker plume than the rain clouds, making it visible. Still, I couldn't tell if the Bazaar was on fire or not.

I started to move out from the shelter that the goddess statue provided, towards where the fire was, but was suddenly yanked back.

A hand snaked around my waist tightly, keeping me from moving.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed, trying to look back at the demon, but not succeeding due to the odd angle. I made to strike him with my sword, but my wrist was restrained a second later when Ghirahim foresaw my actions. "Let go!"

He laughed airily, and the sound sent shivers down my spine. His response was unfittingly cheeky and juvenile. "And what if I don't?"

I exhaled. "Just what do you want with me?"

There was a long uncomfortable pause, and I bit my lip when I realized that he didn't seem likely to reply. I fidgeted, still trying to move away because I was starting to panic. There were people down there…What if someone got killed in the fire? Or maybe in the explosions?

Then I suddenly realized something, and I stilled my movements. "The bomb supply was stolen from the Bazaar." Ghirahim didn't respond right away, so I kept on. "How would there have been explosions without-"

"Hold your tongue."

I blinked, my words dying on my lips. Ghirahim's voice was oddly tense, not at all laid back like before. His arm was tense, the hand gripping my hand tightened imperceptibly. "What is it?"

"Don't talk."

Again, he silenced me, and I started to feel irritated. "Okay, just let go-"

Ghirahim twisted my hand, making the sword clatter to the ground loudly. The sound reverberated eerily through the passageway, bouncing off the stone walls. "You're trying my patience."

I bit my lip, then put my injured, free hand on the arm that was restraining me. I tried to yank it off me, but it was no use. The wound on my palm was starting to sting again, and it hurt too much to use it. I only ended up staining part of his glove red. He exhaled tensely when he saw the crimson streaks left behind, but didn't say anything.

My other hand was still kept in an iron-like grip, twisted painfully. If he put any more strain on it, he'd surely break my wrist. I could feel the blood circulation slowing, the numbness in my fingers becoming more evident as the seconds passed.

I tried to kick him, but Ghirahim must have sensed it, because he suddenly tightened his grip even more. A choked sound escaped my lips at the sudden pressure around my midriff and wrist, and I vainly tried to glare at him.

"I-it's too-"

I gasped in pain as he suddenly slammed me against the wall forcefully.

A loud clap of thunder echoed through the sky a few seconds later, the lightning that accompanied it illuminating the clouds for less than a second.

My gaze darted back outside, where the rain was still pelting down, but didn't seem to put out the fire below. In the distance, I could hear the faint sounds of yelling. I made more of an effort to get out of Ghirahim's grip.

"Let me go already!" I struggled more, trying to kick back at him. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Ghirahim suddenly snarled at me, yanking me forward before I heard a sickening crack when I was almost thrown into the wall. My head lolled forward, my vision going vaguely blurry for a moment.

I could feel a sticky warm sensation near the side of my head. My eyes cracked open and I blinked a few times to refocus. Ghirahim wasn't looking at me, but then met my gaze when he realized that I was watching him. The pupil of his unobscured eye was dilated.

"You're not going anywhere until I say so, boy." He said after being silent for so long. He looked at me carefully, as though trying to figure something out, his expression not matching his harsh words.

"No." I snapped, but my voice was lacking venom. My head felt fuzzy, and I could feel the fabric of my hat clinging to my hair where there was surely blood.

Ghirahim didn't look surprised at my response, and he leaned closer. "You're in no condition to be arguing. I could kill you right now if I wanted to."

Without replying, I leaned back against the wall more easily when I realized that he wasn't holding me anymore. A wave of nausea washed over me, causing me to stumble slightly. My foot caught on the sword that I had dropped, making clang softly against the ground before stilling. Ghirahim brushed some hair out of his eyes, giving the sword a look of contempt.

"And I think I'll take that." He said, a hand forcing me back when I tried to reach down for the weapon.

He snapped his fingers, making it vanish, and I sighed, my eyes only half open as I struggled to keep conscious. He must have slammed me into the wall with more force than I realized. Hopefully I didn't have a concussion…

"Y-you…" I started, only to be cut off by a finger being placed over my lips.

"Shh."

With little options left, I tried to bite the finger in retaliation, but couldn't muster the strength and slumped back against the wall again.

My vision went blurry once more, and I was tempted to just let go, but I forced myself not to. Who knows what Ghirahim would do if he wasn't busy with me? I shuddered inwardly at the thought. It was probably best if I kept him occupied-which meant staying awake.

I couldn't afford to let him go and terrorize the others or worsen the situation.

"Don't be like that, sky child." He chastised. "If you're obedient, maybe I'll let you go. I had planned to let you go see the damage, but as you can see, I've decided not to. Luckily, it turns out that everything will work out whether you're there or not. In fact, I believe that it's better that you stay here."

Because my mind felt so fuzzy, the words hardly processed, but I still managed to send him a glare.

Ghirahim smirked, seemingly back to normal after being so quiet and tense earlier. "Ah, but am I boring you? Either way, this is not really of much importance. It's the outcome that counts…My Master will be pleased. The spirit maiden can wait for a little while longer, too…I have quite a useful resource that will help…"

He closed his eyes and leaned against the opposite wall, stretching easily, before looking back at me with a half-lidded gaze. "I can't believe this didn't occur to me earlier."

"What?"

"This." He repeated, cocking his head to the side so that his hair swayed, making his other eye visibly glint in the half-light.

I blinked a few times when reality started to slip away again. "What's 'this'?"

He paused, then voice lowering, gestured at me. "You."

His eyes shone again, making his expression more sinister. I felt my breathing go shallow with uneasiness. I didn't really understand what he meant. Hell, I hardly ever could get the real meaning behind his words. It was like he deliberately tried to confuse me, and it was frustrating. I wish he'd just get to the point.

"What about me?" I snapped, trying to uphold some semblance of control on the situation.

"You're going to be very useful to me, hero." His eye twitched at the last word, making me grimace when I realized that I wasn't being anything close to 'heroic' right now.

Sure, I was trying to keep him distracted and away from the other Skyloftians, but I knew that it might not be enough. The only way to finish things would be to kill him, and I wasn't in a good position to do so, what with my head injury, the cut on my hand, and the overall lack of a weapon.

"As if I'd help someone like you." I muttered bitterly, voice almost drowned by the storm outside.

Ghirahim didn't seem to care about my comment. "Yes, 'as if'. You will be of use; you don't have a choice, considering your utterly pathetic state."

I grit my teeth at the jibe, but didn't have the energy to get any words out, instead fixing the demon with a hard look. I hated how he was right. I hated how he had painted me into a corner.

It was humiliating and shameful, but I couldn't do anything about it. My injuries and the cold dampness were sapping my energy more quickly than I wanted to admit, and I felt like I would pass out at any moment. There was nowhere to hide and there didn't seem to be any back up plans.

At least I was keeping him away from everyone else for now. That had to count for something, and besides, there wasn't anything else I could do. If Fi were here, she'd probably have been able to think of something…

Ghirahim pushed himself off the wall and closed the distance between us. He brushed some of my damp hair away from my eyes and then gripped my chin, angling my face towards him.

I scowled. "Don't touch me."

The voice that came out was bordering on fragile, and I hated that, too. The edges of my vision were blurring more frequently, and I knew that the chances of dropping unconscious where I stood were all too high.

I just had to keep telling myself to stay awake because I didn't even want to consider what would happen otherwise.

"Relax, sky child." Ghirahim replied calmly, but despite his disturbingly soothing tone, I could see his eyes flashing with something akin to curiosity.

It made me nervous, as though I was some test subject or something. In a last ditch effort, I tried to push him away, but I knew it was no use; not when I felt so weak. To make things worse, a faint numbing sensation was starting to spread through my body at the blood loss, but I tried to ignore it.

Ghirahim chuckled softly and then brushed his gloved hand over my cheek.

A shudder ran through my body, and I tried to look away, but he prevented it by gripping my jaw harder. Strangely enough, his actions didn't seem to match his expression. He wasn't smirking like I would have thought.

Before the thought could register, he had slipped a hand around my neck and had suddenly forced me into a kiss.

I let out an involuntary yelp at the action, the sound muffled by his mouth. Out of all the things I'd expected, this hadn't been one of them. The other 'sort of kiss' that had happened just earlier…I thought it was a fluke. A sort of test to see my reaction or something…so I'd just brushed it off and tried not to dwell on it.

But this was completely different since I knew that it was completely intentional.

"No, st-" I started as I was able to pull away for a second, only to be yanked back.

Again, I tried to push at him, but he only grabbed my wrists and pinned them on the wall above my head.

It all felt very strange. I'd never kissed anyone on the mouth before-not like this, at least-and since it was my enemy, it just felt completely wrong. I didn't know what to do, how to react. He had to be manipulating me somehow; he had to have some ulterior motives, right?

My mind blanked out for a moment when I felt a warm breath ghost over my mouth before I felt his tongue drag over my lips.

I shivered and leaned back into the wall. It was too hard to think about what was happening, let alone try to stay conscious. With how much energy I had-which wasn't much-I could only focus on one thing at a time.

Unfortunately, it appeared that staying conscious required the most attention. It was already humiliating to be subjugated to this, but to pass out in the process? I would never live that down and my pride certainly wouldn't let it.

Nonetheless, I still wasn't able to ignore the strange feeling of the other's mouth on mine. Why would my enemy want to kiss me? There didn't seem to be any rationality in it and it hurt too much to try to work it out.

I felt the hand that was gripping my jaw move, and then he dug his thumb into the corner of my mouth hard. So hard that I could feel the skin break, taste bursts of coppery blood. I must have accidentally opened my mouth a bit, too, because a second later, I felt Ghirahim's tongue move past my lips, lap at the redness that had flowed from the cut.

My eyes opened of their own accord-though I wasn't sure when they had closed. I could see Ghirahim, his own eyes closed, pale silvery eyelashes brushing against cheekbones. I quickly reiterated those thoughts; it would have been hard to notice such details from farther.

Ghirahim continued to suck on the injury, urging more blood to seep out. Just then, a wave of dizziness from the blood loss made me lose my balance, but I was just pushed into the wall harder to keep me standing.

A dark eye opened, and I stared back, trying to figure out what he was thinking of. Probably blood, death, himself, killing people, Zelda, me. Ugh, I didn't even want to think about it. Ghirahim pulled away for a moment after my somewhat lacking response, my refusal to reciprocate his actions. "You're so close to passing out, and yet you continue to resist…" He breathed.

I didn't reply, trying to settle my increased heartbeat, wipe that stupid unintentional blush off of my face. It wasn't like I could help it, not after what he did, after not properly breathing, however, that didn't mean that I wanted it to happen again.

He sighed, "Very well, stay silent."

Just then, a searing pain ran through my hand from where the injury had been. I jerked violently as the feeling intensified, letting out a startled sound. Sticky warmth was trailing down my arm from where it was still pinned above my head with the other, and I knew it was blood. Because of the frigid air, the blood seemed to go cold on my skin moments later.

Ghirahim dug his fingers into the wound further, almost tearing at the flesh. My body tensed automatically, but I didn't let out any sounds. Then he suddenly stopped and let my arms fall to my sides where they hung limply. I could feel my hand drip blood onto the ground, but I just grit my teeth.

He used the same hand to stroke the side of my face, streaking my skin with color.

"Red looks quite striking on you, doesn't it?" He murmured.

I didn't bother answering, wanting to preserve my waning energy.

He just raised an eyebrow and then slipped a hand to the small of my back, forcing my body against his again. Lips pressed to mine again, the feeling starting to become horrifyingly familiar now, his other hand cupped my cheek. Again, his tongue delved into my mouth, but I didn't do anything about it since I was too weak and disoriented to stop it from happening.

"…Y-you'd better…not…h-hurt them." I gasped hoarsely as he pulled away, my eyes starting to unwillingly slide shut as I realized that I couldn't keep this up much longer. I didn't see his reaction, but I did hear an airy laugh over the sound of the rain outside.

Now, the faint yelling sounds earlier had faded. I only hoped that it meant that everyone was okay.

I felt Ghirahim move away then, and I stumbled at losing the support he provided, half crumpling to the ground. There was a sharp jab in my side as Ghirahim kicked me into the wall again forcefully. I held back a pained groan.

My body refused to respond anymore, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't gather enough energy to even open my eyes. The cold and the blood loss numbed my body further, making my thoughts more and more incoherent; I could only hope that Ghirahim wouldn't hurt anyone else. Surely I was enough to satisfy his thirst for blood.

Yet just as I fell unconscious, Ghirahim seemed to read my mind. His softly spoken words made me doubt myself.

"We'll see about that, sky child."

/

**A/N: So, hey again; I really hope you liked this chapter (despite it being so short)!**

**I'll try my best to update next Friday-with a longer chapter. And feel free to leave a review if you have time! :)**


	6. Collapsing

**A/N: Aghhh, I missed Friday...again. D: I'm really, really sorry! I had a lot of work to do and then I had a bunch of music theory to finish and it all took way longer than I thought it would.**

**Anyways, at least I got the chapter up today, even if it was a tiny bit late. I decided I couldn't wait until next Friday to post it. :) Plus, it's a bit longer.  
**

**Moving on, hugs for everyone who favorited/followed/reviewed last chapter! Hope you like this one, too!**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns TLoZ.**

**/**

When I finally came to, the first thing I noticed was the strange lighting. The sky was still covered with clouds, but everything was a warm caramel color, the color of an afternoon changing to evening. At the same time, the clouds created an almost surreal effect. It seemed to mute the sun. It hadn't been like this before.

How long had I been unconscious?

The next thing I noticed was the occasional rumble of thunder. Oddly enough, there was no rain to accompany it, and the flashes of lightning were almost completely unnoticeable. I pushed myself up from my uncomfortable face down position, sitting up and leaning against the wall tiredly.

My eyes glanced to the hand that had been injured, but there was no evidence of a wound. I wiped away the damp grit and the faint streaks of blood, searching for an injury again, but still; there was nothing but unscathed flesh.

It was exactly the same for my head injury. As I carefully prodded at the place where the wound had been, I found only bits of dried blood. I glanced down at the ground, at the almost invisible rusty stains-half diluted in the rainwater from before-confirming that it hadn't been a dream. Then, I put on my gauntlets and hat after realizing that they were both resting by the wall.

It was as though they'd been deliberately placed there for me. Ghirahim had to have done all of this as some kind of joke, perhaps some strange formality. Not that any of that was necessary, not after being so flippant about…certain things earlier. An involuntary blush crept onto my cheeks, followed by a wave of queasiness.

When I'd first met Ghirahim at Skyview, I thought that he got in my personal space just to annoy me, just because he knew it made me uncomfortable. But now I knew that that wasn't the case. Well, not anymore.

At the time, it may have just been a strange fascination, but at this point, it was unlikely. Now, it seemed like a conscious desire, as if his initial curiosity had developed into something more...unhealthy. Nevertheless, that didn't make him any less dangerous-quite the opposite. If he kept with this fixation, it meant that I wouldn't be able to save Zelda without getting hindered by him for whatever reason.

I didn't know what to think. I still hardly knew him, and I didn't want to take the time to get to know him either.

I scowled and then got to my feet as I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind.

After noticing the sorry state of my clothes, I tried my best to brush off whatever dirt I could from the fabric as well. I didn't want to be seen as such a wreck. It was humiliating, and I wouldn't have any good excuses ready. I definitely wasn't going to seriously admit that I had been passed out for goddess knows how long. Besides, there were probably people that were worse off than me, people that had been in the fire's danger zone.

I needed to see what had happened as soon as possible and make sure everyone was alright. Ghirahim had wasted enough of my time with his games, but I wouldn't let any of it phase me. He could do whatever he wanted to me, but I wouldn't let him get to anyone else.

However, he definitely hadn't guaranteed their safety. Not that he would.

This was between me and him; nobody else had to get involved. I had a responsibility to keep everyone safe.

From here, I left the Goddess statue, telling myself that I'd clean up the blood later, and headed back to the Knight's Academy. Thunder growled quietly every so often, but eventually started to fade, leaving behind a silence that made me uneasy. It was foreboding, the knot inside me twisting tightly in dread as I anticipated what the fire had left in its wake.

The air felt warm, muggy, and uncomfortable. With it came a cloying and stifling fragrance that hung heavily like a blanket. Suffocating.

It didn't take me long to notice the damage, and I abruptly stopped in my tracks.

Gray, browns and blacks mixed together in a sodden patchwork of ashes and charred rubble. Where the Bazaar used to stand, there was only debris and wreckage. A few of the other nearby structures were suffering some damage as well, but nothing to this extent.

The building was completely and utterly decimated, reduced to wet fragments of what used to be a bustling cheery place.

I walked a bit closer, noticing a few pieces of twisted metal, some shards of broken glass catching the light.

I exhaled loudly in frustration and barely suppressed anger. That bastard! He'd really done it this time.

Just as I turned away, I noticed a flash of movement from the corner of my eye. I looked sharply to the side, and then blinked when I realized that it was only Fledge. He was crouching at the far side near some broken beams, a small scrap of green fabric in his hands. It looked like he had pulled it out of the rubble.

I stared, puzzled, for a few seconds, still going unnoticed by the other, until I suddenly heard my name being called. At first I thought it was Fledge, but after his reaction, I confirmed otherwise.

He looked up in confusion, then caught sight of me. His eyes widened and he quickly closed his hand around the small green scrap as though it was a lifeline.

I took a step towards him, "Hey, what-"

"Hey, Link!" The other voice called from somewhere behind me, cutting me off. I was about to follow Fledge, but then decided against it when I heard my name for a third time.

Fledge took the opportunity to take his leave hastily, vanishing from my sight soon afterwards. I turned around to see Pipit.

The yellow clad knight looked a bit tired, faint shadows under his usually sharp eyes. I couldn't help but notice the way his gaze darted suspiciously to where Fledge had been.

"Pipit?" I started, "What ha-"

"I knew you'd be here. Are you okay?" He interrupted again, looking back at me, "Where were you?"

I blinked in confusion. How did he know...? "Um, I'm…fine. I was, well, I-just, what happened? Is everyone okay?"

He looked a bit skeptical at my fumbled response, but replied nonetheless. "After the fire? I guess you could say that. Thankfully, nobody was injured too badly. Just a few minor burns. We don't know what caused it, though. As you can see, the Bazaar was burned to the ground." His expression turned accusatory, "But do you care to explain where the heck you were? Headmaster Gaepora told me to look for you. There're some rumors floating around, you know, and your going missing doesn't help them."

I winced. "Um, sorry. I was...um...Should I go report that I'm okay?"

"No, I'll do that. Just go back to the academy for now; most people are inside anyway. Everyone seems to think that Skyloft's been cursed." He laughed quietly, "I don't think so; there's clearly someone that's behind this."

I swallowed uncomfortably, but nodded.

There was another pause before Pipit grimaced and glanced at my tunic, "Is that blood?"

"What?"

He gestured to the visible part of my undershirt and the hem of my tunic sleeve. It was streaked in a dark shade of red; dried blood, but I knew that there was no injury. Not anymore. Ghirahim must have done something about it, perhaps to lessen suspicion or something. "What happened?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing. I'll just go change."

"…Fine." He replied after some thought, "Take care, Link." He gave me a nod and a worried smile before following the path that Fledge had taken.

/

After changing into my spare dry clothes and cleaning up properly, I left my room and decided to go and find out what had really happened. What made things worse was that Ghirahim still hadn't shown his face since I woke up. It made me worried for multiple reasons.

Firstly, when I didn't know where he was, I didn't have any way to know what he was up to. Had he gotten Zelda? Was he planning to come back to Skyloft?

Another reason was that I needed answers, and unfortunately, he was the only person who would be able to provide them. It wasn't as if I wanted to see him, more that I needed to. I'd accepted that he wasn't just going to leave me alone that easily, but if I could somehow use him to my advantage, to get my questions answered, then that was what I'd have to do.

I felt a bit guilty about such underhanded motives, but I tried not to focus on it.

After some deliberation, I decided that the person I would benefit most from seeing-besides Ghirahim, who wasn't here-was Karane. She usually had interesting stuff to say, and recently, she'd been looking into the strange occurrences, so she probably had some new info by now. At the very least, she could tell me about the fire since Ghirahim had prevented me from looking into it sooner.

At least he'd had the courtesy to heal me while I was unconscious. It was kind of nice not having to worry about a possible concussion anymore...

When I came into the classroom, I found Karane in her usual place by the bookshelves. She looked up, relief crossing over her face. "Link! You're okay!"

I gave a sheepish grin in return. "Yeah, I am. You're okay, too, right? I, um, heard about the fire."

She nodded and put down the book she was holding. "You did? Have you seen the damage? It really did a number on the Bazaar. It's going to have to be completely rebuilt…Everyone got out alright, though...Where were you all this time?"

Again, that question. "I was…away. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about what happened."

She gave me the same doubtful expression that Pipit had given me, but then just shrugged. "Anything you want to know, just ask."

"Um…er, just what exactly…?"

She seemed to understand, but she only shook her head. "Okay, well if you really weren't there…"

I nodded once, and she continued.

"Basically, a fire was lit somewhere in the Bazaar yesterday, and somehow a bunch of bombs were there. I don't know if they were the same ones that were stolen…wait, you knew that, right?"

Another nod.

"Okay, well, because they kind of went off. Whoever did it had it planned in such a way so that nobody got hurt, though, but the entire Bazaar got burned to the ground. We couldn't even do anything about it, and the rain didn't help at all. We just had to wait until the flames went out...which wasn't until late last night. There's been some smoke damage to some of the nearby buildings, though…and we have to get more supplies now. And what's worse is that most-if not all-of the potion and item stocks were destroyed. We'll all have to be extra careful not to get hurt. Injuries won't heal nearly as quickly without potions."

Karane took a second to catch her breath and then grinned. "Sorry, I'm ranting…"

I mumbled an 'it's okay', but I wasn't really paying attention anymore.

Was this Ghirahim's goal? To destroy all of the supplies? I mentally denied it. If that was his only goal, then he could have done it in such an easier manner. Then again, he always did like adding his own flair to things…

But what about all the problems he'd caused earlier? How did they have anything to do with each other? There had to be some kind of connection, no matter how obscure it may be. Ghirahim might have been a bit extravagant and melodramatic sometimes, but I knew that he didn't do things without reason.

I was about to speak when Karane began again. "We're actually going to scavenge for stuff later. We were just waiting for the storm to completely die out. It was raining all night and for most of today, but it only started to calm down recently. I'm pretty sure we'll have to wait until tomorrow morning, though. It's going to get too dark to find anything pretty soon."

It suddenly registered that I had been out for over a day. I tried not to let my surprise show. "I'll help, too."

"That'd be great." She smiled, but for some reason, it didn't reach her eyes. In fact, she wasn't even really making eye contact anymore. She seemed to be looking at something else. "It's nice to have help. A lot of the other Skyloftians are feeling too uneasy about it…"

"That's understandable..." I agreed.

Karane nodded absently, but then frowned. "Are you sure you weren't at the fire yesterday?"

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

She looked down with the same strange expression, and I tried in vain to figure out what she was looking at, but then shrugged as though trying to move on. "Ah, never mind. It's nothing." Her voice lowered, "By the way, have you seen Fledge lately? I didn't see him much yesterday…"

And it seemed that she still was suspicious of Fledge. "Yeah, I saw him just outside. He was near the wreckage."

Karane didn't look surprised. "Something's definitely up with him. Just keep an eye on him. I just know he's involved in this somehow."

I averted my gaze. "I really hope you're wrong."

/

It was a complete accident-and a huge coincidence as well. I'd been trying to find Fledge, but I honestly hadn't really expected to find him so easily. Or Pipit, for that matter. And ironically, I'd found them both in the same place; outside, standing near a side wall of the Knight's Academy and having some sort of discussion.

It was almost laughable how I went unnoticed, how I ended up eavesdropping like some criminal-again.

Ghirahim would have found it pathetic.

I swallowed dryly, forcing thoughts of the demon from my mind, not liking how frequently I was thinking about him.

My attention was diverted as Pipit sighed exasperatedly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I know you were outside earlier and you had something with you. Now what were you holding? Did you find it in the debris?"

I suddenly remembered the green scrap Fledge had been clutching earlier. From my vantage point, I could peer to where they were without them seeing me. Fledge looked at the ground with a guilty expression. Pipit's brows were drawn together in forced patience, and he was about to speak again when the other beat him to it.

"Er, I was going to show you anyways…" He sheepishly stated. With an almost pained expression, he pulled out the green fabric and held it out. I couldn't really see it that well from my vantage point, but I could see that it was slightly burned as though it had been in the fire.

Pipit snatched it and gave it a careful look before his eyes widened. "Where exactly was this?"

"J-just in the…debris."

Something in his voice told me he was lying, maybe it was the lack of eye contact, the excessive stuttering; but I tried not to focus on it. It may have just been nerves-and only that. Pipit could be a bit much sometimes.

The yellow clad knight nodded stiffly once after a few seconds, a somewhat shaken look passing over his face. "I'll have to look into this…" He muttered to himself before looking back at Fledge.

"Hey, what're you doing here Link?"

A voice behind me-for the second time today-that was clearly not Pipit's made me jump, and I quickly glanced back to see that there was someone else there, "Groose?!"

"Why're you sneaking around?" He asked, golden-yellow eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You-wait…"

He caught sight of Pipit and Fledge, and then looked back at me, "You're listening in?"

I winced, "Can you talk a bit quieter?"

But it was too late by then, and Pipit had already sensed a disturbance. He was already coming closer. Once he saw me, his eyes attained a guarded quality. "Link, what are you doing?"

I tried not to sigh at receiving the same question two times within the past ten seconds, "I, uh, I just kind of…overheard you guys." I managed awkwardly.

Groose sniggered and smoothed out a few strands of his red hair. "Yeah, 'overheard'…"

Just then, Fledge moved closer, eyes widening as he saw me and Groose. The moment he caught sight of me, he seemed to shrink into himself. I turned back to the others.

"Okay, fine, but what about y-" I stopped mid-sentence when I noticed Fledge's strange look. He kept looking at my arm or something. I glanced down and blinked once when I realized that part of the fabric was singed, a small-ish rip going up to my shoulder. I hadn't noticed that earlier, but then again, I hadn't really been paying attention to the condition of my clothes at the time. This was my extra tunic, so I hadn't expected it to have any rips or anything…

So that was probably what Karane had been looking at when I was talking with her. I guess that explained her confusion when I told her I wasn't at the fire, even though it looked like I had been.

I suddenly remembered the green fabric that Fledge had apparently found earlier, the piece that Pipit was holding.

I looked at Pipit, eyes catching on the green piece of cloth he held. He must have had the same idea because realization and something akin to relief flitted across his face. Groose didn't seem to have noticed the silent exchange, though.

"I-uh, Groose, you can go back now. Fledge, I have some stuff to discuss with you. And you too, Link."

Groose's eyebrows drew together stubbornly. "What? No way! I'm not going anywhere."

Pipit looked strained. "Groose, don't argue."

The tall redhead made a face and then sighed in resignation after a few moments upon realizing that he wasn't going to get his way.

"Fine, fine. Well, I guess I'm off. I was only following Link; it's not my fault he came here."

"What?" I blurted out, "Why the heck-"

He gave me a surprised look as though he hadn't meant to say that much, "Uh, never mind. See ya later."

I was about to call him back when Pipit coughed pointedly. The redhead gave a small wave and then headed back inside.

Turning back to the others, I exhaled heavily, "Okay, what's going on?"

"According to this," Pipit held up the green fabric, "you should be the one telling us what's going on. At first I thought it was Karane's, but..."

Fledge's eyes were still averted and he refused to look at me, Pipit, or the green swatch. I breathed a silent 'oh' when I finally understood Pipit's reaction. He was worried that it was from Karane's tunic, which was pretty much the same color.

I looked at the other knight, "I have no idea if that's even mine."

"It looks exactly like the rip in your sleeve."

"But I don't even know where that's from either!" I retorted, "Fledge!"

"…Y-yeah?"

"You said you found this in the wreckage, right?" I demanded.

If they seriously thought that this was evidence against me, then I didn't know what I'd do. I hadn't had anything to do with that fire.

Fledge nodded weakly without meeting my eyes.

"Okay, but that still doesn't prove that I did anything. I wasn't even there."

"But it's the only thing we can go on!" Pipit countered. He was grasping at straws, but if I was being honest, I didn't blame him. Ghirahim had been freaking everyone out, so it was a given that people would jump at whatever answers presented themselves, even if they were wrong. He'd certainly succeeded in getting everyone paranoid, including myself.

I sighed, "I know, but you just have to trust me. I have nothing to do with this and I don't even know how I got that rip. How do you know that this fabric is from my tunic anyway?"

"Link, I think it's pretty clear."

Dread seemed to settle in the air and I bit my lip. There had to be something I could say to change his mind. "What about earlier? When you were talking to me outside? There was blood on the sleeve. There weren't any rips!"

Fledge went pale at the mention of blood, and if I was guessing right, it was probably because he was worried that Ghirahim had hurt me. I was almost 100% certain that Ghirahim had been threatening Fledge.

Pipit pursed his lips as he suddenly realized that his accusation didn't make much sense anymore. He shook his head. "Fine. But what of it? As I said earlier; this is all we have to go on, and seeing that this-" He looked at the slightly charred swatch of green,"-matches the rip on your tunic...I mean, why else would it match? I really don't think someone deliberately went to all this trouble to frame you."

"...What?" I said reflexively, to which Pipit rolled his eyes.

"I said-"

"No, I know, it's just that..."

A sudden flashback of Fledge carrying green fabric-a bundle of it-replayed in my head. I had run into him in the hallway and he'd seemed really nervous, but at the time, I hadn't really thought much of it. I'd been too caught up in my own problems to see what was right in front of me. He'd been carrying my spare tunic-the one I was wearing now-so that he could create that rip and make it look like I set that fire, when really...he did.

Because Ghirahim threatened him.

But why?

And now, he apparently 'found' that scrap of green cloth that mysteriously matched the rip in my spare tunic. If I really thought back on it, then I realized that when I saw Fledge outside today-when he 'found' the fabric-the picture didn't match. He was probably waiting for someone to come along and ask him about the fabric. And that someone had been Pipit.

That still didn't explain why he had known where I'd be earlier.

"He put you up to this, didn't he?" I blurted out before I could help myself.

"Who?" Fledge asked nervously.

I shot him a look, and the other tensed automatically when he realized who I was referring to. Ghirahim. So he had been in contact with him.

Surprisingly, Fledge actually managed to look at me this time, eyes fearful and guilty.

But he still shook his head.

I sighed again. "Okay, you don't have to admit to anything," I conceded, "but just...I'll handle this, okay?"

I could see Pipit's mystified look from the corner of my eyes, could feel his confusion, but I didn't really feel like explaining anything now. It would take too long and I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. Besides, I didn't want any more people involved in this.

"A-are you sure?" Fledge asked with uncertainty. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"No, it's fine. I think I understand now." I added. "So I'll see you two some other time?"

Fledge nodded, but Pipit opened his mouth to speak. "Wait, Li-"

The words died on his lips as I turned back to leave, quickly heading back inside to get my supplies and to search Fledge's room.

Now, I was sure he had something important of mine, and unless Ghirahim decided to show up, I'd be able to continue on the path laid down for me-and I'd definitely get Fi back.

From a different perspective, this may have seemed like a good thing, something positive in a sea of misfortune, so to speak. But even though the pieces were falling into place, I knew that something wasn't right. There was no more room for mistakes, for ignorance, for carelessness.

Even if I got Fi back, even if I could continue with my quest...Everything had been done for a reason, for some greater cause that went beyond my rivalry with Ghirahim.

And if something wasn't done, I knew that Skyloft would be destroyed from the inside.

/

**A/N: And so the plot thickens...and gets harder to follow (I'll clear things up as soon as I can work it into the story, don't worry ^.^)**

**Anyhow, f****eel free to leave a review! :)**

**And updates are...um...not guaranteed to be on Fridays...yea, maybe ****they'll just be sort of weekly from now on (if I can manage it) :3**


	7. AN

**A/N: Hi :) Thank you guys for the reviews and the faves/follows! I really appreciate it! ^.^**

**Er...unfortunately, this isn't actually a chapter, though...(apparently FF doesn't like when people post A/Ns as 'chapters'****, but...*awkward grin*)**

**Anyway, I'm very sorry, but I have to put this story on hiatus for a little bit. I promise I'll get back to it as soon as I can. It's just that I'm swamped with other work and obligations, so I haven't had enough time to write.**

**Also, I'm going to try to avoid rushing my writing since I don't want to get into the habit of posting badly written/poorly-thought-out chapters that I might regret later...ahaha :/**

**Currently, I'm (still) working on Chapter 7 right now; I'll try to finish it as soon as I have time.**

**I hope nobody's too disappointed... :( That said, I'm not abandoning this fic! :D  
Next update will be-at the latest-on May 23rd. If I can manage it, I'll definitely update before that!**

**So, until next time? :3**


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